I’ve been volunteering with CARL for about 3 years, and it’s been one of the spaces where I truly find peace and a sense of agency in advocating for climate action. We’ve had core members in the past who were men who were great team players and leaders, and some of our key advisors and mentors have been men. Simply by coincidence, however, our entire current core group, including our director, are all women.
I mentioned this fact in passing to a young, seemingly progressive man during a conversation. I then mentioned that my role in partnerships and outreach had been challenging in a non-profit capacity. His immediate response was: “maybe you just need more dudes.” To provide some context, I am a career customer success manager with over a decade of client facing experience who is very familiar with sales processes and business development, and I usually appreciate a challenge that stretches my abilities. I’ve had the privilege of working with exceptional and successful colleagues in sales and BD roles, many of whom are women. This man’s knee-jerk reaction to my statements struck me as bizarre, deeply offensive, and also really surprising. My inner Kali kicked in: I said, “no” forcefully then pressed for an explanation. Eventually I got remorse and an apology from him in response.
It was disheartening to see that for all the contributions women make to society, towards climate advocacy, and all the progress we have made as a global community in women’s rights, some people have clearly missed the memo. This blog post is my way of expressing gratitude towards and paying homage to all the incredible women who have helped pave the way for climate action, including my amazing teammates at CARL.
A 2019 study showed that greater female representation in government led countries to adopt more stringent climate change policies. Women farmers are responsible for half the food production in the world, and up to 80% in developing countries. Indigenous women have made major contributions to forest ecosystem management. According to studies, women tend to favor climate action that benefits future generations and make more climate friendly choices. Women consumers have a powerful influence on the market. Women are also more likely to experience worse health and economic outcomes due to climate change. For some of us this makes climate action both a personal and a feminist cause. A landmark ruling in a top European human rights court this year was a really exciting example of the positive impact women can have on climate action and policies when we advocate for our rights.
To be even more specific, there are women who are global leaders leading the charge for climate action. Marina Silva, the environment minister of Brazil, Mia Mottley, Barbados’ prime minister, and Susana Muhamad, Colombia’s environment minister are examples of stalwart policy makers. Their impact ranges from protecting tropical forests, building coalitions, to advocating for communities affected by development and land rights. Ezgi Barcenas, chief sustainability officer for Anheuser-Busch InBev and Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech have spearheaded corporate initiatives and solutions like building incubators to solve problems in sustainability and finding alternatives to aviation fuel. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, president of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad, and Mina Susana Setra, activist Indigenous People’s Alliance of the Archipelago have protected and advocated for indigenous people’s rights. Greta Thunberg is a global icon in the fight for climate action.
These are just a few examples of the tremendous impact women have had on climate action. I am proud to volunteer for an organization like CARL, where we are working to empower workers to green their jobs. Any individual can take up the mantle to promote climate action and serve as an example to their community.