Environment & Climate Change Archives

A growing number of women farmers are changing the face of California’s agricultural industry

Farming is Female: women farmers in California are changing the face of the agricultural industry in their state and across the country.

by Rachel SarahFeb 15, 2023

Co-published with The Guardian

Eating last and least: Widening gender hunger gap raises climate alarm

Women typically eat less in Indian households and are often found compromising their share of food to feed others in the family exposing the growing hunger crisis.

by Ritwika MitraJan 25, 2023

Co-published with Foreign Policy

On these women-run Himalayan farms, even climate-resilient crops are failing

As countries experiment with climate solutions, experience of women farmers in the Indian Himalayas shows the complexities of the climate crisis and the costs of not involving local communities.

by Disha Shetty, Anvi MehtaJan 13, 2023

Co-published with Scroll

Climate change puts more women at risk for domestic violence

Extreme weather events that climate change is making more frequent and more intense are also pushing up violence against women around the world.

by Disha Shetty, Geoffrey Ondieki, Aie Balagtas SeeJan 3, 2023

Co-published with The Washington Post and Nation

Why climate change means women are having to work harder and longer

Women and girls living in poorer countries are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

by Disha ShettyOct 24, 2022

This Q&A was republished from a Fuller Project newsletter on October 24, 2022. Subscribe here.

The hidden toll of heat waves on women in South Asia

South Asia has endured an unprecedented heat wave, with March seeing the hottest temperatures on record in India. Evidence suggests the heat is landing a cruel double blow on women’s income and health.

Related: Reporter’s Notebook: Women’s invisibility in climate stories erase their narratives. The result is bad policy

by Disha ShettyJun 27, 2022

Co-published with Scroll

Reporter’s Notebook: Women’s invisibility in climate stories erase their narratives. The result is bad policy

According to official government statistics, 75.7% of rural women in India are engaged in agriculture. But in article after article, farmers are often exclusively portrayed as men. With the changing climate hitting the agriculture sector hard, women’s invisibility in media coverage leaves their distress unacknowledged.

by Disha ShettyJun 13, 2022

‘The smoke enters your body’: A toxic trash site in Kenya is making women sick

As rubbish piles up on a vast dumpsite, the women who sift through it for their livelihood are suffering reproductive health problems that scientists say have been overlooked.

Related: Air pollution’s impact on women’s health is not getting the attention it needs, scientists warn

by Louise Donovan, Moraa ObiriaJun 2, 2022

Published in partnership with VICE World News and the Nation

Reporter’s Notebook: Indoor air in India can be just as bad as the country’s toxic smog. Was I wrong to be surprised?

India's polluted skylines regularly make international news. But it’s only now coming to light that air quality inside homes, which mainly affects women in the kitchen, can be just as bad.

by Disha ShettyApr 11, 2022

Air pollution's impact on women's health is slipping under the radar, public health experts warn

Evidence is clear that air pollution is linked to higher rates of miscarriages, pregnancy complications and stillbirths, affecting women’s reproductive health. But public health experts say that air pollution’s impact on women's health is not getting the attention it needs.

by Disha ShettyApr 3, 2022

Co-published with Scroll and Health Policy Watch

Money in the forecast: Women reap unexpected gains from India's investment in early weather warning systems

India’s investment early weather warning systems was expected to help a predominantly male field of fishermen. But data suggests it may have unexpectedly led to major financial gains for women since the systems were launched a decade ago. Experts say the unintended win shows that gender is still a blind spot for climate policymakers.

by Disha ShettyFeb 25, 2022

Co-published with The Wire.

In the Sundarban, climate change has an unlikely effect — on child sex-trafficking

Child trafficking is on the rise in one of the most climate vulnerable places on earth—revealing blind spots in climate policy, experts tell contributor Ritwika Mitra.

by Ritwika MitraJan 20, 2022

Co-published with The Wire

‘No fish means no food’: How Yurok women are fighting for their tribe’s health

Their salmon have all but disappeared, so Yurok mothers are fighting for their tribe’s health and food sovereignty.

by Lucy SherriffOct 4, 2021

Female ‘Hotshot’ Firefighters Want Action on Reproductive Health Risks

A system "built for men" exposes women to chemicals that have been linked to miscarriage, birth defects and slowed fetal growth.

by Lucy SherriffAug 11, 2021

In Nigeria, gas giants get rich as women sink into poverty

As international gas companies like Eni, Shell and Exxonmobil reap millions of dollars, women in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region say gas flaring is destroying their land and livelihoods.

by Shola LawalJun 10, 2021

Are chemicals poisoning the world’s female workers?

Women are disproportionately exposed to deadly substances—and may be getting disproportionately sickened by them.

by Lucy SherriffJun 1, 2021

‘Water Warriors’: The US Women Banding Together to Fight for Water Justice

Women have been deeply embedded in the movement for clean water and sanitation for decades, which has become even more pressing amid the pandemic.

by Jessica WashingtonApr 20, 2021

This story was published in partnership with The Guardian and The Fuller Project.

Lessons from Texas: Advocates Warn of Extreme Weather’s Link to Domestic Violence

When a winter storm paralyzed Texas last month, millions of people in the state were left without power or heat or drinkable water. Traveling was dangerous and cell service was spotty. At the Houston Area…

by Jessica WashingtonMar 12, 2021

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