Australian Federal Election 2016: Climate Change And Gender Equality Are Intrinsically Linked

1 Million Women is calling for broad political agreement across party lines at the 2016 Australian election, and beyond, for urgent and sustained action on: Climate change, protection of the Great Barrier Reef, and a commitment to gender equality. Please sign our open letter to candidates here. Let your voice be heard.

We recently wrote about how climate change hits women harder than almost any other demographic, particularly women in developing nations. With Australia's federal election only a week away, keeping the conversation flowing when it comes to climate change and the implications it poses on women is essential for climate action.

Women of all nationalities are disproportionately affected by climate change, including in Australia. Australian women continue to face inequalities in the workplace and home, and face barriers created by ingrained social constructs that see females as primary carers.

In the workplace there are still 12% more males aged between 15-64 than females. Men on average are earning around $284.20 more dollars a week than women, and for an average Australian woman to earn the same as a man, she would have to add an extra 66 days to her working year. In the home, women are still doing double the amount of hours every week caring for children compared to fathers. Because of inequalities such as these, Australian women will often feel the knock-on effects of a changing climate harder than men, particularly in rural areas of Australia.

"With lesser financial means, it will be harder for women to recover from damage to their homes from extreme weather events driven by global warming, such as flooding, droughts or bushfires," Greens Senator Larissa Waters recently told ABC News.

The after-effects of extreme weather events on homes and livelihoods means that families will struggle to cope with daily life. "Tragically, the incidence of family violence can increase in the wake of traumatic events such as serious natural disasters." Senator Waters explained.

Domestic and family violence is the leading preventable cause of death, disability and illness in Australian women aged 15 – 44, and this is aggravated after times of extreme weather. The financial hardships and trauma that follow extreme weather events often result in violence, as was the case in the U.S during 2011. After Joplin, Missousiri was hit by one of the deadliest tornadoes, domestic violence increased by 40%.

Read more: How does climate change exacerbate racism, domestic violence and suicide rates?

For Australian women living in rural areas, these impacts are often exacerbated. Men usually hold power in these areas, as more often than not they have ownership over resources. In times of environmental strain, women forsake their own health to take on the burden of caring for the family. An increased workload for both men and women can result in social isolation. This combined with a lack of outreach and community resources can leave women feeling emotionally drained and alone.

Image: The Weekly Times

According to a study by Charles Sturt University, during drought three quarters of Australian women increase their workload. 50% of women gain off-farm employment they would otherwise not seek to bring in much-needed income, and begin to assist with more and more tasks around the farm. Many women take on the emotional stress their partner is feeling, and tend to ignore their own health for the sake of their families.

The importance of female leaders

Women are key when it comes to solving the climate crisis, and as a collective are already well on their way. A survey of 11 developed nations by the PEW Research Centre found that in seven of these countries, women are more likely than men to consider climate change a serious problem.

In regards to solutions to the climate crisis, it appears men and women have polar opposite ideas. Dr Ariel Salleh from the University of Sydney explained that women were more likely to take a preventative approach to climate change, while men had more of a 'end-of-pipe' response. Salleh found that women take on the responsibility of making personal changes to combat climate change, while men believed in more risky technological answers after the problem has evolved.

It's clear that men and women face different effects from climate change and have differing opinions on the solutions. Because climate change has such a debilitating impact on women worldwide, we need to be a crucial part of the decision-making process. From 2013 – 2015 the Australian Cabinet had only a single woman, an atrocity that should never be repeated. Women are underrepresented in politics, compromising less than a third of Parliamentarians in Australia. Studies from the Social Science Research suggest that if we want better decisions on climate change, women need to hold at least one third of the decision-making positions in society.

Ask political candidates for a commitment to gender equality this Election

Equal participation for women is key to the successful initiation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of climate change policies, and indeed to all significant decision-making. Will you SIGN our open letter to all political candidates in the 2016 Australian election asking for this?

1 Million Women is more than our name; it's our goal! We're building a movement of strong, inspirational women acting on climate change by leading low-carbon lives. To make sure that our message has an impact, we need more women adding their voice. We need to be louder. Joining us online means your voice and actions can be counted. We need you.