Take Five: “The work must continue until we can see more equitable climate programmes and social services that recognize women’s different needs”

Rachel Anne Herrera is a Commissioner at the Climate Change Commission of the Philippines. During UN Women’s Regional Training on Accelerating Climate Action and Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Implementation in Asia and the Pacific supported by the UN Women Centre of Excellence for Gender Equality in the Republic of Korea and the EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies Programme, we talked to Ms. Herrera about climate change in the Philippines, its disproportionate impacts on women, and the steps that the Philippine Government is taking to mitigate these.

What are the unique challenges or vulnerabilities that women face in the context of climate change in the Philippines?

The Philippines has been ranked as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, and though our exposure to hazards is mostly due to our geographic location along the Pacific rim, this has been exacerbated in frequency and severity by climate change and warming temperatures. According to the Germanwatch’s Global Climate Risk Index, the Philippines was hit by an average of 317 extreme weather events between 2000 and 2019, and every year, we deal with an average of 20 tropical cyclones. Often, our communities will have no time to recover before the next extreme weather event hits.

Women and girls also face increased risk of sexual and other gender-based violence in such situations as when they are forced into evacuation centers, where the humanitarian context may create unsafe social environments.

Women worldwide face inequalities and injustices. But the socioeconomic conditions woven against the highly patriarchal culture in the Philippines, and the country’s marked vulnerability to disasters, make Filipino girls and women even more at risk as the climate crisis worsens.

What concrete initiatives has the government of the Philippines undertaken to address the intersection of gender and climate change?

The Philippines has taken several big leaps to improve gender equity. Now, the pay gap has narrowed substantially, and the government has adopted mandates that enable gender mainstreaming in climate lead agencies. Some notable examples are:

• The Climate Change Act, which provided the anchor mandate and strategy for gender mainstreaming in climate change policies, programs and projects;
• The People’s Survival Fund, which provides the opportunity and funding needed to address gender-differentiated vulnerabilities through adaptation projects of local (subnational) governments;
• The Magna Carta of Women, which sets a minimum 5 per cent government budget allocation for gender and development as well as for the adoption of gender mainstreaming in every government agency; and
• Resolution of the Climate Change Commission that strengthens gender-based formulation and implementation of policies, plans, programmes, and activities and provides a crucial platform for gender collaboration among the climate lead and partner agencies.

These and many more initiatives are being fine-tuned to make the mainstreaming of gender and climate change initiatives a whole-of-government effort.

What are the challenges faced by your country in mainstreaming gender considerations into climate change policies and programmes?

Until recently, most policies related to sustainability have been gender-blind despite a mandate set by the Climate Change Act to incorporate gender-sensitive perspectives in climate and renewable energy plans. There were no policies that expressly required the use of the gender and climate change lens in tandem. But we are working continuously to address these, and our primary focus is to use the frameworks for climate-resilient planning and investment, namely our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and National Adaptation Plan (NAP), as vehicles to ensure these build capacity and strengthen knowledge of women as climate actors.

We also see a need to equip gender focal points in partner agencies and in various projects with technical knowledge of climate change. In the inverse, there is a lack of appreciation for gender analysis among many of the climate lead and partner agencies, to the point that the use of gender analysis is mainly a token activity. Most agencies don’t collect sex- and age-disaggregated data.

And of course, there’s the persistent gender gap in the fields of science and technology, as well as a lack of women in decision-making positions.

What are your key takeaways from this workshop?

Our interactions over the past days have increased my appreciation for the significant reforms that women are leading in our region, whether at the technical or management level. This requires day-to-day painstaking work.

Certainly, the need for sex-disaggregated data is the starting line for more gender-aligned initiatives, and with complementation of approaches that acknowledge the interlinkages of gender with age, education, socioeconomic status, and so on. From the various presentations of fellow delegates, I see the consistency of positive social outcomes and greater impact and effectiveness when the gender lens is applied.

The work must continue and not stop until we can see more equitable climate programmes and social services that recognize women’s different needs. We all need to pitch in, collaborate, and communicate openly.

What strategies do you employ to ensure that women and marginalized groups are actively involved in the planning and implementation of climate adaptation initiatives?

I’m happy to say that the Philippines has many women leaders who have dedicated their careers, if not their lives, to environmental causes in both the private and public sectors. But no doubt more representation is needed. I can think of three broad strategies we’re using to push this further.

The first is to increase the number of women employed in climate change agencies, which are still staffed mostly by men. As an example of what’s being done, the Climate Change Commission requires that one of the three commissioners must be a woman. A version of this policy must also be reflected through the bureaucracy.

The second is to encourage and honor the environmental work by women who are paving the way for other women to be leaders in their respective fields. We established the Philippine Resilience Awards in 2023, through the vision of Senator Loren Legarda as our trailblazing female legislator, to recognize women leaders who have done exceptional work in climate change governance, policymaking, education, food security and sustainability, among others. Last year, ten outstanding champions for adaptation and resilience were awarded, and we are working to launch the search for this year.

The third is to get more girls into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), which are crucial fields in creating climate solutions. To bridge the gap, school departments in energy and science have ongoing projects to get girls interested in math and science, and to provide science scholarships for women.