How is gender investigated in African climate change research? A systematic review of the literature

Keywords: Africa, Climate Change, Gender, Systematic Review
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 7

Abstract

This systematic search and review analyzes all 260 studies published in the Web of Science on gender and climate change in Africa. While there is no strong methodological bias overall in this literature, comparative case studies and sex-disaggregated analyses at individual and household levels predominate, mainly from Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and South Africa. A high number of articles covered the agrarian sector by comparing women’s and men’s on-farm vulnerability to a changing climate based on their perceptions, assets and adaptation behaviors. Though this literature recognizes women’s important conservation, farming, and food responsibilities, it oftentimes generalized these contributions without providing evidence. A number of themes covered were surprisingly minimal given their focus in the wider literature, including studies of coastal areas, conflict, education, energy, migration, urban areas, and water. Overall, more justice-oriented research is needed into the power relations and socioeconomic structures that intersect with other social categories to make certain people, places, and institutions more vulnerable to climate change. Investigations into the power dynamics between (social) scientists and African institutions and communities are also needed as 80 percent of the articles reviewed stem from North America and Europe, and 59 percent are locked beyond paywalls.