International Women’s Day 2022: Climate Justice = Gender Justice
by Sonam Velani You may have never heard of the world’s first climate scientist - the indomitable Eunice Foote, who described carbon dioxide’s capacity to absorb heat in 1856: “An atmosphere of this gas would give to our earth a high temperature.” Eunice didn’t receive recognition for discovering the human-induced phenomenon of global warming, and three years later, a man named John Tyndall got all the credit. It was only in 2020 that Eunice was honored in the New York Times Overlooked series.
Women’s contributions to climate science, policy, business, and much else have been systematically overlooked and undervalued over the years - even though there is no shortage of #WomenLeadingOnClimate. We cannot exclude the voices, perspectives, and expertise of 50% of the population. It’s up to us to #BreakTheBias, #ByTheNumbers:
🪧 116M → Over 116 million people from 185 countries have participated in in Fridays for Future climate strikes, an organization started by a dozen young women activists from across the globe (Fridays for Future)
🚺 70GT → We have an opportunity to reduce 70 gigatons of CO2 by 2050 if we proactively invest in women’s health and education globally (Project Drawdown)
🌽 20% → We can achieve 20% increase in farm yields by increasing women’s access to financial products, thereby feeding 150 million people (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization)
🏛 6x → Countries with a higher percentage of female representation in parliament have 6 times as many stringent climate change policies (European Journal of Political Economy)
👩🏻⚖️ 30% → Companies with 30% or more female board members have better climate governance (Bloomberg New Energy Finance)
Needless to say, empowering women and girls represents the most impactful tool for achieving a climate-safe future. Investing in women founders and funders building the next generation of climate solutions will have a cascade of positive outcomes for our people and our planet:
👫 43% → There is a 43% likelihood that gender equitable teams will make a company higher profits (McKinsey)
💸 35% → Women-led teams generate a 35% higher return on investment than all-male teams, yet only 2% of all venture capital goes to women founders (Kauffman Fellows)
👩🏻🏫 2x → Women VCs invest in 2 times as many women founders, who will then go on and hire 6 times as many women on their teams (Kauffman Fellows)
👨👩👧👦 $28T → Women drive over $28 trillion of spending annually, investing primarily in their children and their communities (Harvard Business Review)
🧾 $513B → The US economy would add $513 billion if women earned equal pay to men (Institute for Women’s Policy Research)
On #IWD2022, here’s to the women who challenge the way things have always been done. Just like Eunice Foote, let’s recognize and celebrate the women in our lives who are building an equitable climate tech ecosystem - today and the rest of the 364 days of the year.
And if you are a woman transitioning careers and joining us on the climate journey, check out these incredible organizations across the globe of #WomenSupportingWomen: Women+ in Climate Tech, Climate Raise, Women of Color Collective in Sustainability, Women in Cleantech and Sustainability, GenderSmart, Women.NYC, Women Entrepreneurs NYC, The Female Quotient, She Changes Climate, and so many more!
#IWD2022 #InternationalWomensDay #BreakTheBias #ClimateChange #WomenLeadingOnClimate #WomenInSTEM #GenderLensInvesting #ImpactInvesting #ClimateActionNow, #ResilientCities #GreenFuture #ClimateJustice #GenderJustice #TogetherForOurPlanet
Eunice Foote, Climate Scientist Extraordinare
by Sonam Velani