Applying a gender-sensitive lens to climate and weather information to increase equity and reduce business risk
Findings from South Africa show how many women entrepreneurs may be missing the opportunity to adapt their businesses to climate risk due to gender inequality in the provision of information – but increasing understanding of the problem can support change.
By Katharine Vincent, Denyse S. Dookie, Songo Benya, Palesa Base, Miriam Murambadoro, Emma Archer and Gina Ziervogel
As we approach International Women’s Day 2025, it is worth reminding ourselves why such a day is still important. The longstanding dominance of a patriarchal system that sees the world through a masculine lens matters because people’s needs are not the same – and gender is one major cause of difference. If we view things through a masculine lens we run the risk of diagnosing issues in a gender-blind way, and thus creating solutions that reinforce gender differences.
Provision of weather and climate information is one example of a field where a gender-blind approach can reinforce gender inequality. Socio-culturally constructed gender roles lead to gender differences in activities and norms, which creates a need for different types and formats of information, and for different mechanisms to communicate that information to encourage effective uptake and use.
Uneven understanding of gendered differences across sectors
In an African context, gender differences in weather and climate information have been studied particularly in the agricultural sector. This is important as agriculture is the mainstay of many economies on the continent and the source of livelihoods for even more.
Studies show that the types of weather and climate information required by men and women often differ – reflecting their different roles in agriculture and the types of commodities they farm, and the scale on which they do so. Evidence also indicates different preferred channels of communication, with women traditionally favouring word-of-mouth dissemination, while men are happier with less personal channels such as radio and television. However, as smart phone access increases among women and men and mobiles become a preferred channel for both, these differences could fade away.
While gender differences in agriculture and implications for weather and climate information have been studied, the same is not the case for other sectors – including entrepreneurship.
Women play key roles in entrepreneurship on the continent, with one recent study putting their contribution to African economic growth at US$250–300 billion in 2016, equivalent to about 13% of the continent’s GDP. As with agriculture, gender norms are reflected in the nature of women’s entrepreneurial activities relative to men. Previous research led by the Grantham Research Institute has shown that women entrepreneurs face a “triple differential vulnerability” to climate change. This is because their businesses are exposed to climate hazards, they are usually on the frontline of managing household-level climate risk as a result of gender norms, and their lesser access to resources relative to men limits their capacity to adapt.
Findings from the agriculture sector show that women typically have less access than men to weather and climate information, which reduces their ability to manage the impacts of exposure to extreme events. This reflects different levels of education and access to technology through which weather forecasts and warnings and climate information are communicated.
Developing understanding of the South African context
Understanding more about the gender differences in climate impacts on entrepreneurs and use of climate information was the motivation for an ongoing study in South Africa led by the Grantham Research Institute with in-country partners.[i]
Researchers carried out 200 surveys with men and women entrepreneurs, primarily in Gauteng province. The nature of their businesses varies, with women primarily involved in small food shops and street vending, beauty/cosmetic-related services, events and hospitality, daycare/childcare facilities and textiles, and men involved in internet cafes, car washes and businesses related to transport, building and carpentry. Women entrepreneurs reported greater exposure of their businesses than men to climate extremes, including floods, drought, high winds and extreme heat. More women than men reported that extreme weather events had affected the place where their business is carried out; and that their business had been subject to one or more extreme weather events in the previous three years.
The survey also showed gender differences in access to crucial information such as early warnings ahead of extreme weather events, which are increasing in frequency due to climate change. When referring to particular extreme events which had affected them, women entrepreneurs were twice as likely as men to note that “This type of event often happens, but I wasn’t aware that it would occur this time.” Overall, men and women both tend to prioritise the use of ‘nowcasts’ (for around the six hours ahead) and daily weather forecasts over longer-term climate information.
Differential access to resources between men and women also affects capacity to adapt, as noted in the triple differential of vulnerability. With many entrepreneurs in South Africa working in the informal sector, there is limited external support to help businesses absorb the negative impacts of exposure to climate extremes. Similar proportions of men and women entrepreneurs reported that, in such circumstances, they have to rely on their own finances to get back on track. However, more women than men said they were not able to do anything, or were not able to cope with the impacts.
At least one woman surveyed offered thoughts about adaptive resilience. With a business focused on recycling, she explained that her response was to diversify: during bad weather when she could not collect waste, she turned to small jobs such as washing, ironing or cleaning. This woman’s response is indicative of future challenges that are likely to face many more people.
Making information provision more equitable
The failure to consider longer-term climate information and reliance on one’s own finances to cope means that many entrepreneurs may be missing the opportunity to adapt their businesses to the evolving nature of climate risk. Given that women entrepreneurs are already reporting exposure more than men, if this pattern continues it will be reinforcing existing inequalities.
Better understanding these gender differences in impacts and access to information can help to inform what needs to be done to make the provision and communication of weather and climate information more gender-equitable, and also to assist in encouraging its effective uptake and use. Information that reflects the needs of both men and women entrepreneurs, and is equitably, appropriately and reliably communicated, is necessary to help reduce the risks posed by weather and climate to business activities.
[i] Led by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment with Kulima Integrated Development Solutions, the South African Weather Service, and the Universities of Cape Town and Pretoria. Next steps within this project are to communicate the findings described above to climate service providers and adaptation planners to inform their activities.
The views in this commentary are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Grantham Research Institute.