Stretch & Challenge London Lectures
Will gender equality help solve climate change?
Is gender equality a key factor in tackling climate change? Many think so, and in the lecture we attended by Environment Professor Jacqueline McGlade (UCL), she explained why the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 is to ‘achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’. When women are empowered and educated the evidence shows that they have more control over their lives and dedicate more resources to health and education than men.
Professor Jacqueline McGlade also argued that women are at greater risk in natural disasters because more women live below the poverty line. This means they cannot access the resources that give them the opportunity to escape or survive. For example, in the Nepal earthquake in 2015, Nepalese women were more likely to suffer disproportionately, this is because 7 per cent of men in Nepal work overseas, so there is a disproportionate amount of men to women. Moreover, many women lost their identification cards meaning they struggled to regain their identity and livelihoods: without an ID card ones identity and voice disappeared. A Feminist solution to climate change is needed, where women are included in political discussions, as women often offer the solutions to tackling natural disasters. We need to bring more female voices to the negotiating table. It was a fascinating lecture that opened my eyes to a whole new way of exploring gender disparities and our climate emergency.
As part of Francis Hollands Stretch & Challenge programme, every half term, Ms. Lewis, Assistant Head of Teaching & Learning, organises a trip to an interesting lecture or event in London. This lecture was the first of these trips and it was open to all year groups. It was lovely to have a mix of Upper Fifth, Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth in attendance. We’d really love for some of the younger girls to participate too. Watch this space for the next lecture!
Amelia Atfield, Lower Sixth student.
