Quote and Overview
"Noting that climate change is likely to bear more heavily on women, we have conceptualized livestock projects who explicit aim is the advancement of gender equity coupled with resilience to climate change."
“Gender equality, resilience to climate change, and the design of livestock projects for rural livelihoods” (2015) is an in-depth scientific study of the relationships between rural women keeping livestock and climate change. Authors Nicola J.C. Chanamuto and Stephen J.G. Hall analyze existing livestock systems and gender inequality, arguing that climate change is likely to have a greater impact on rural women, who are the primary livestock keepers. Dr. Jennifer Elick provides the introduction to this text.
Nicola Chanamuto and Stephen JG Hall
Nicola Chanamuto has worked for local government, international aid agencies, social enterprises, grassroots charities, and community groups. She holds an undergraduate degree in Social Anthropology with Development Studies from the University of Sussex, a masters degree in Gender and Development from the Institute of Development Studies, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Local Government Management from Warwick Business School. She focuses on marginalized and less-reached groups, women, and girls and is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Lincoln (UK) in which she is focusing on female labor migration and domestic work.
Emeritus Professor of Animal Science in the School of Life Sciences of the University of Lincoln (UK), Stephen JG Hall has worked in animal behavior and welfare at Cambridge Veterinary School, in France, and in the UK. He studied traditional livestock systems and breeds in Africa and is particularly interested in global issues of conservation and sustainable development of livestock biodiversity.
Discussion Questions
1. What do climate change and gender equality have to do with each other?
2. The article brings up that out of the world's 900 million poor livestock keepers, two-thirds are women. Why do you think that is?
3. It is mentioned in the article that the relationships between gender roles and climate change began to be studied in the 1970s. How do you think the research on this topic has evolved in the last 40 years?
4. This issue isn't talked about in mainstream media. Why not?
In-Class Activities
1. Have students research other industries that women need that aren't ones we usually talk about.
2. Have students research statistics and effects of climate change. Have the students share their findings within a group.
