Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-4 (section)

=== 4.8.3 Gender, Equity and Social Justice ===

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SR1.5 acknowledged that the adaptive capacity of a population was going to reduce with each degree of warming and that vulnerability to climate change was due to gender, race and level of education, which can compound existing and future vulnerabilities ( [[#IPCC--2018a|IPCC, 2018a]] ).

Gender, class, race, age, physical ability and educational level determine access to water and financial and societal resources, potentially adverting climate-induced water hazards, reducing vulnerability and facilitating adaptation. However, insufficient attention has been given to the role of improving equity in access to water ( [[#Abedin--2019|Abedin et al., 2019]] ; [[#Eakin--2020|Eakin et al., 2020]] ). Not all water adaptation strategies are accessible to the poorest, who may turn to maladaptive strategies if their access to water is negatively affected ( [[#Eakin--2016|Eakin et al., 2016]] ). Consequently, there have been calls for mainstreaming equity considerations into adaptation ( [[#Blackburn--2018|Blackburn and Pelling, 2018]] ) ( ''medium evidence'' , ''high agreement'' ) ''.'' It has been shown that people living in poverty, racial minorities and those ageing are more vulnerable to climate-induced water hazards and that their adaptive capacity is limited ( [[#Szewrański--2018|Szewrański et al., 2018]] ; [[#Winsemius--2018|Winsemius et al., 2018]] ; [[#Nyantakyi-Frimpong--2020|Nyantakyi-Frimpong, 2020]] ; [[#Erwin--2021|Erwin et al., 2021]] ). Among these categories, gender is the one that has been most analysed in the context of water and climate change.

Women’s water rights are hampered by societal patriarchal norms that prevent women from accessing water and participating in water management. Gender power relations effectively limit women’s decision-making power, mobility and access to resources, including water, which makes them more vulnerable to climate-related hazards ( [[#Caretta--2015|Caretta and Börjeson, 2015]] ; [[#Djoudi--2016|Djoudi et al., 2016]] ; [[#Sultana--2018|Sultana, 2018]] ; [[#Yadav--2018|Yadav and Lal, 2018]] ). In most societies in developing countries, women and girls are in charge of fetching water. The necessity of water collection takes away time from income-generating activities and education ( ''high confidence'' ) ( [[#Fontana--2014|Fontana and Elson, 2014]] ; [[#Kookana--2016|Kookana et al., 2016]] ; [[#Yadav--2018|Yadav and Lal, 2018]] ). In addition, the distances women and girls would have to walk as a result of growing water scarcity due to climate change may increase ( ''limited evidence, high confidence'' ) ( [[#Becerra--2016|Becerra et al., 2016]] ) (Sections 4.3.3, 4.5.3). Numerous studies substantiate a male bias in information access, employment opportunities, resource availability and decision-making in water-related adaptation measures ( [[#Huynh--2014|Huynh and Resurreccion, 2014]] ; [[#Sinharoy--2019|Sinharoy and Caruso, 2019]] ).

Although women are often depicted as victims of climate change-induced water scarcity ( [[#Huynh--2014|Huynh and Resurreccion, 2014]] ; [[#Djoudi--2016|Djoudi et al., 2016]] ; [[#Gonda--2016|Gonda, 2016]] ; [[#Yadav--2018|Yadav and Lal, 2018]] ), they are also proactive adaptation actors ( [[#Singh--2015|Singh and Singh, 2015]] ) (Cross-Chapter Box GENDER in Chapter 18). Notably, women are not a homogenous group, and local gender roles are not immutable or generalisable ( [[#Carr--2014|Carr and Thompson, 2014]] ; [[#Djoudi--2016|Djoudi et al., 2016]] ; [[#Gonda--2016|Gonda, 2016]] ; [[#Sultana--2018|Sultana, 2018]] ). Coping responses and adaptation mechanisms to climate change are profoundly gendered. Women and men approach the diversification of agricultural and pastoral livelihoods differently in response to climate change ( [[#Caretta--2015|Caretta and Börjeson, 2015]] ; [[#Kankwamba--2018|Kankwamba et al., 2018]] ; [[#Singh--2018|Singh et al., 2018]] ; [[#Basupi--2019|Basupi et al., 2019]] ). For example, reliance on women’s self-help groups and associations has proven successful in ensuring women’s participation in decision-making in adaptation interventions as a response to climate change-induced shifting precipitation patterns and increasing droughts ( [[#Chu--2017|Chu, 2017]] ; [[#Mersha--2018|Mersha and van Laerhoven, 2018]] ; [[#Phuong--2018|Phuong et al., 2018]] ; [[#Walch--2019|Walch, 2019]] ). Studies feature water harvesting, crop diversification, cash transfer programmes and food subsidies as adaptation measures that enhance gender equality. Adaptation to climate change in these instances promoted gender equality because it allowed women to reap the benefits of these new measures in terms of economic and health well-being ( [[#Tesfamariam--2017|Tesfamariam and Hurlbert, 2017]] ; [[#Lindoso--2018|Lindoso et al., 2018]] ; [[#Walch--2019|Walch, 2019]] ).

Meanwhile, adaptation interventions such as drip irrigation, the adoption of more labour-intensive crops and livelihood diversification through male out-migration have proven to increase women’s burden ( [[#Caretta--2015|Caretta and Börjeson, 2015]] ; [[#Kattumuri--2017|Kattumuri et al., 2017]] ). Hence, a lack of gender-sensitive analysis before implementing water management projects can lead to maladaptation and increase gender vulnerability ( [[#Phan--2019|Phan et al., 2019]] ; [[#Eriksen--2021|Eriksen et al., 2021]] ) ( ''high confidence)'' .

Acknowledging and understanding the implications of climate-related water adaptation policies in terms of equity and justice is a prerequisite for ensuring their legitimacy and inclusiveness and promotes social justice ( [[#Carr--2014|Carr and Thompson, 2014]] ; [[#Djoudi--2016|Djoudi et al., 2016]] ; [[#Jost--2016|Jost et al., 2016]] ; [[#Sultana--2018|Sultana, 2018]] ). Furthermore, integrating the principle of gender inclusivity in adaptation is morally and ethically appropriate and effective because women hold much of the local and TK in many agricultural communities and can fruitfully provide insights on how to design and implement adaptation responses ( [[#Fauconnier--2018|Fauconnier et al., 2018]] ; [[#James--2019|James, 2019]] ).

In summary, there is ''high confidence'' that the effects of climate change-induced water insecurity are not evenly felt across populations. Particularly vulnerable groups are women, children, disabled and Indigenous Peoples whose ability to access adequate water is limited and varies across race, ethnicity and caste. Equity and justice are central to climate change adaptation and sustainable development, as the world’s poorest people and countries feel the adverse impacts of a changing climate most acutely. These groups can become even more vulnerable due to adaptation actions that are not equitable.

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