Why Does Climate Change Hit Women Hardest?
A new UN Women scorecard, out this Climate Week, shows where policy still fails women
Key takeaway: Yes, climate change disproportionately harms women, and most national climate plans still don't address it. UN Women's newest Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard finds that while more than three-quarters of climate plans acknowledge gender-specific risks, fewer than a third take comprehensive action, leaving gaps in unpaid care, health, and…
By Dear Sarah · · Updated
Key takeaways
- UN Women's Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard grades national climate plans on how well they protect women across six dimensions, including economic security, health, and gender-based violence.
- Under worst-case warming scenarios, climate change could push more than 158 million additional women and girls into extreme poverty by 2050, with nearly half of that increase in Africa.
- Fewer than half of national climate plans commit to real action on women's health or unpaid care work, and only a handful address gender-based violence at all.
- Climate Week NYC 2026, which opened September 21, is spotlighting women-led climate organizations like Wawa Gatheru's Black Girl Environmentalist.
- Women-led climate and environmental organizations remain chronically underfunded even though they do much of the frontline work, according to UN Women researcher Laura Turquet.
Climate Week NYC kicked off today, and here's the headline nobody's shouting from the main stage: climate change still hits women harder than men, and most of the world's climate plans don't do much about it. That's not a vibe, it's a measured gap. UN Women just released the newest read of its Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard, the tool that grades national climate plans on how well they actually protect women, and the grade is rough. More than three-quarters of countries' climate plans acknowledge that climate change hits women differently. Fewer than a third actually do anything comprehensive about it.
What the scorecard found
The Scorecard checks national climate plans across six areas: economic security, unpaid care work, gender-based violence, health, participation and leadership, and whether gender shows up anywhere in the plan at all. It's expanding to cover 100 countries by October, timed to UN Women's larger Progress of the World's Women 2026 report on gender and the climate crisis.
The numbers behind it are stark. UN Women researchers Laura Turquet and Brianna Howell, who lead the organization's climate and gender research, estimate that under worst-case warming scenarios, climate change could push more than 158 million additional women and girls into extreme poverty by 2050, nearly half of them in Africa, and add 236 million more women to the ranks of the food insecure. Fewer than half of national climate plans commit to real action on women's health or unpaid care work. Only a handful mention gender-based violence at all, even though disasters and displacement are known to raise that risk, something we wrote about when extreme heat itself was found to increase violence against women.
Why does climate change hit women hardest?
Because the load falls unevenly before the disaster even hits. Women do the bulk of the world's unpaid care work, so when a flood, a heat wave, or a drought lands, it's usually women walking farther for water, staying home with sick kids or aging parents, and losing the income they'd otherwise earn. Women are also overrepresented in informal and subsistence work, meaning fewer safety nets when a season fails. And the organizations doing the actual frontline work, run by women, for women, stay chronically underfunded relative to the scale of what's being asked of them.
Climate Week NYC is at least naming that gap this week. Wawa Gatheru, founder of Black Girl Environmentalist, is speaking on panels about who gets to lead the next chapter of the climate movement, after building the first national organization dedicated to getting Black women and girls into climate careers in the first place. It's the same instinct behind why gender apartheid is finally being treated as a crime against humanity: policy has to name who's actually affected before it can protect them.
Why this matters for you
If you're a young woman deciding where your money, time, or career attention goes, this isn't background noise. It means the climate organizations most worth your attention are often the small, women-led ones doing the unglamorous work the scorecard says governments keep skipping, not just the biggest names with the biggest ad budgets. It also means that if you're the one managing care for a parent, a sibling, or your own household during a heat wave or a rough storm season, you're not imagining that it lands on you more. The data backs that up. If you've been following how waste and plastic policy keeps missing its own deadlines too, it's the same accountability gap, like we covered with Plastic Overshoot Day and why the timeline keeps slipping.
One thing to try today
Pick one women-led climate or environmental organization, local or global, and actually follow what they're doing this month. Black Girl Environmentalist is a solid place to start if you want a national one. It costs nothing, and it means your attention, and eventually your dollars, goes somewhere the scorecard says needs it.
Quote to sit with
"Even though women are bearing the brunt, women's organizations are being starved of the finance they need to do their vital work on the frontlines of climate change."
Laura Turquet, UN Women Senior Policy Expert, said that at COP28, and it's still the truest thing anyone's said about this gap. The people doing the work are rarely the ones getting resourced for it. That's worth remembering the next time you decide where to put your $5, your hour, or your vote.
💌 Sarah
Frequently asked questions
Does climate change affect women more than men?
Yes. Women are more likely to do unpaid care work, rely on informal or subsistence income, and face displacement-related safety risks, all of which climate disasters make worse. UN Women's newest Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard finds most national climate plans still don't address these gaps comprehensively.
What is the UN Women Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard?
It's a tool UN Women uses to grade national climate plans on how well they protect women across six areas: economic security, unpaid care work, gender-based violence, health, participation and leadership, and gender mainstreaming. It's expanding to cover 100 countries by October 2026.
Why are women more vulnerable to climate disasters?
Women carry a disproportionate share of unpaid care work, are overrepresented in informal and subsistence labor with fewer financial safety nets, and face higher risks of gender-based violence during displacement and disaster recovery. Policy responses often overlook these dynamics.
What is Climate Week NYC?
Climate Week NYC is an annual gathering, running September 20 to 27 in 2026, that brings together businesses, governments, scientists, and advocates around climate solutions. This year's edition includes multiple sessions on women's leadership in the climate movement, including panels featuring Black Girl Environmentalist founder Wawa Gatheru.
How can I support women-led climate organizations?
Start by following one women-led climate or environmental group, local or global, and paying attention to what they're actually working on. Groups like Black Girl Environmentalist are a good national starting point, and many smaller local organizations are chronically underfunded relative to the work they do.
Sources
- Women, climate change, and the search for accountability — UN Women
- The Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard: From monitoring to action — UN Women Data Hub
- As climate change pushes millions of women into poverty, UN Women calls for a new Feminist Climate Justice Approach — UN Women
- Climate Week NYC 2026 — Climate Week NYC
Keep reading
- Does Extreme Heat Put Women at Greater Risk of Violence? — New research links hotter days to more violence against women. Here's what the data shows, and what actually protects us.
- Why Are Reservoirs Hitting Record Lows Right Now? — It's not one hot week making headlines on two continents — it's months of small deficits catching up at once. Here's what that actually means for you.
- Are Heat Waves Actually Getting More Dangerous? — Philadelphia just declared a heat emergency and named pregnant women high-risk. Here's the simple heat plan doctors want every woman to have.
- What Is Plastic Overshoot Day 2026 and Why Does It Matter? — The world just blew through its plastic budget for the year, again. Here's what Plastic Overshoot Day actually means, plus one swap that helps.