Since 1994, South Africa has made substantive progress in advancing the rights of women, strengthening their representation in decision-making positions and developing gender-responsive policies and legislation. However there remains critical gaps to be addressed through public policy, institutional frameworks and implementation.
Last week we marked our National Women’s Day as a stark reminder that the struggle for gender equality and women’s emancipation is yet to be won. In this context, the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) is expected to deliver bold, intersectional leadership.
The link between climate change and gender equality is undeniable, impacting essentials such as food, shelter, and livelihoods. It’s crucial that national climate policies, such as the nationally determined contributions (NDCs), incorporate gender-responsive actions to advance gender equality in this era of climate vulnerability.
The current revision of South Africa’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) which targets ten sectors (i) water; (ii) agriculture; (iii) biodiversity; (iv) forestry; (v) disaster risk reduction; (vi) energy and mining; (vii) transport; (viii) human settlements; (ix) waste; and (x) health, is an opportunity to review the inclusion of gender, and our commitment to the global climate diplomacy, as well as national policies that frame our national climate change response.
At the occasion of the department budget speech last month, Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and People with Disabilities of South Africa Sindisiwe Chikunga reaffirmed the constitutional rights of vulnerable groups and laid out several initiatives for economic inclusion, but the budget fell conspicuously silent on one of the greatest challenges of our time: the climate crisis and its unequal social impacts.
This is not an accidental omission. It reflects a deeper problem of failure to treat climate justice as an integral part of the gender empowerment agenda. When strategic frameworks don’t account for climate risks or adaptation pathways, they overlook the very real and widening inequalities that come with environmental breakdown.
The DWYPD doesn’t need to become a climate department, it should and must be climate-literate, primarily because the gendered impacts of climate change in many contexts are by now relatively well documented. Transition policies have been less widely analysed for their gendered impacts – rendering them less visible – key question of any just transition must then be: Justice for whom to what end
An engendered just transition and climate action is not optional
Considering the current state of gender mainstreaming, the desired future state is one in which South Africa’s revised NDC, and its future iterations, are increasingly gender responsive and enabled by gender-climate mainstreaming that enables positive and tangible progress in national climate responses because women and girls are at the forefront.
Despite gender being one key dimension of structural inequality, gender mainstreaming remains sidelined in transition debates and policies – whether about climate finance, technological solutions, corporate management approaches and most government transition strategies as already stated.
If explicit attention is not paid to gender inequalities across all sectors involved in a low-carbon transition, climate finance arrangements, new technologies and other ‘solutions’, there is a serious risk of replicating – and maybe even exacerbating existing gender inequalities.
The link between climate change and gender equality is undeniable, impacting essentials such as food, shelter, and livelihoods. It’s crucial that national climate policies, such as the NDCs, incorporate gender-responsive actions to advance gender equality in this era of climate vulnerability.
For example, women in poor rural communities may be disproportionately affected by climate impacts. They may depend on those natural resources affected by environmental degradation while having limited alternative livelihood options, or access to public services and infrastructure. It is not automatic, therefore, that most just transition policies will address these intersecting injustices.
Beyond their voices, the Just Transition is about Women’s active participation
Integrating gender into climate policy is not only a matter of equity and rights—it is a strategic imperative for enhancing the ambition, effectiveness, and durability of national climate action.
Women, especially those already facing structural barriers, are at risk of being excluded from the opportunities of the transition. From women in rural villages losing crops to drought, to urban professionals navigating disrupted supply chains, to informal traders struggling with extreme weather, climate change is eroding economic security for all women. Yet, our national responses to both climate and economic policy too often treat these struggles as separate — when in reality, they are deeply intertwined.
As South Africa advances with it’s just transition, we must ensure women together with other vulnerable groups are not only protected but positioned as drivers of economic renewal. It demands partnerships across government, business, labour, and civil society to embed inclusion into green supply chains, investment flows, skills development, and procurement frameworks.
The cost of inaction is a dual crisis of inequality and environmental collapse. But the opportunity is greater still — a more inclusive, resilient, and competitive South African economy that leaves no woman behind.
Lindiwe Johnson, Senior Manager: Just Transition at the Presidential Climate Commission
*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or .
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