14 June 2017
On 14 June, UN Women, UNDP and IOM hosted a workshop focused on the importance of alleviating gender inequality as a prerequisite to disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and the overall achievement of sustainable development. Climate change and disasters are not gender neutral. Too often, women are disproportionately affected by disasters, and are most at risk of not surviving them due to gender inequality and discrimination.
Gender inequality not only a social issue, but also exacerbates consequences of disasters and climate change within communities. As Timor-Leste is ranked as the 11th most at risk nation in the world to disasters, it becomes even more critical to clearly understand who is the most vulnerable and why.
The dialogue initiated through this workshop was part of the effort to raise awareness on the differential impacts of climate change on women and men, and the need to bring women’s agency to the climate change agenda in order to create resilience in communities, beginning with those furthest behind.
