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Climate Change Places Women and Girls of Color in Its Crosshairs
When will the naysayers get out of the way and let women lead?
When experts and scientists discuss climate change, they generally issue warnings and data-rich predictions about our future. There are common dates like 2030 or 2050 that are now stuck in our collective consciousness; where scientists predict that if we make no changes to our current engagement with the environment, global disaster is imminent. The reality, however, is even more bleak as it pertains to women and girls — and specifically women and girls of color. While the rest of the western world may be discussing dates until official impact, there are regions of the world like sub-Saharan Africa that are already experiencing devastating droughts. According to the UN Foundation IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report, “Across Africa, yields of staple crops like maize, wheat, and sorghum, and a variety of fruits have significantly decreased in recent years because of changing rainfall patterns and drought.”
Why does this disproportionately impact women and girls of color? Because women make up over 50% of the world’s poor and impoverished. Children represent at least 44% of the global extreme poor — particularly among girls and as children age the poverty gap begins to widen — placing them…
