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- Convenors:
-
Sarika Chaudhary
(Jawaharlal Nehru University)
Amaresh Dubey (Centre for Social and Economic Progress New Delhi)
Wendy Olsen (University of Manchester)
Rajesh Kumar Mall (Banaras Hindu University)
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- Chair:
-
Arjan Verschoor
(University of East Anglia)
- Discussants:
-
Wendy Olsen
(University of Manchester)
Amaresh Dubey (Centre for Social and Economic Progress New Delhi)
- Format:
- Paper panel
- Stream:
- Gender, work and wellbeing
- Location:
- CB4.10, Chancellor's Building
- Sessions:
- Thursday 26 June, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract
Perceptible weather anomalies across geographical regions are affecting livelihoods. Scattered empirical evidence show extreme whether has started impacting labour demand and supply. This panel will consider submissions on climate change induced effects on female labour participation in South Asia.
Description
There is general consensus among the climate scientists that perceptible weather anomalies are occurring across geographical regions. Observable weather anomalies include extreme temperatures and wide fluctuations in rainfall, which adversely affect agricultural production and productivity, posing significant challenges to food security.
Extreme weather events contribute to the build-up of pests, diseases, and weeds, necessitating crop diversification to build resilience. This often leads to increased use of defensive inputs such as pesticides and weeding. More importantly, the higher costs of inputs and climate-resilient seeds have a differential impact on farms of varying sizes, especially in the Global South. Small farm households, constrained by limited credit and liquidity, are likely to use fewer pesticides and rely more heavily on unpaid family labour.
In addition, farm sizes are continuously shrinking, e.g. in India primarily because to Indian inheritance laws. The increased use of farm inputs, crop diversification and the resulting implications for farm sizes may significantly alter labour demand and supply in agriculture. Given that farm households in many developing countries face immense liquidity constraints in purchasing farm inputs such as pesticides, usages of labour for weeding may be directly triggered to respond to temperature induced pests and disease build-up.
The labour implications of extreme heat events are not fully understood. While some evidence on labour implications exists, it remains scattered and not specific to the agricultural sector.
This panel invites empirical submissions exploring the effects of climate change on the demand and supply of female labour in agriculture, particularly in South Asia.
Accepted papers
Session 1 Thursday 26 June, 2025, -Paper short abstract
The paper studies the effect of increase in heat on the labour force participation rate and wages of the workers during the maximum heated months from 1983 to 2024. It reveals a larger fall in the real wage rate for women and Dalits in Indian agriculture with increasing temperature.
Paper long abstract
Globally, there has been a fall in labour capacity to 90% of the previous decades and with rising heat stress further falls are expected in future (Dunne, Stouffer, & John, 2013). Effect of temperature shocks is reported to be negative, pushing people out of villages, besides dampening earnings in non-agricultural sectors (Neog, 2022). Evidence based on Indian agriculture show falling employment and wages with rising temperature. The paper studies the effect of increase in heat on the labour force participation rate and wages of the workers during the maximum heated months. The variations in the effect across gender, social groups and regions is studied for various industrial classification. We use data on temperature and rainfall from India Meteorological Department and data on the labour statistics from the Employment and Unemployment rounds (1983-84 to 2011-12) and PLFS data from 2017-18 to 2023-24. Professions requiring more outdoor activities have larger exposure to heat than jobs, in some built-in sheds. A social group-wise and gendered analysis is done to see the varying proportion of different social groups in their exposure to heat through occupation. The analysis reveals a larger fall in the real wage rate for women and marginalised social groups (SCs) in agriculture with increasing temperature. The labour force participation rate, however, does not significantly vary with changes in temperature. Thus, people cannot afford to remain out of the labour market because of climatic conditions but their productivity falls.
Paper short abstract
This paper will offer critical insights into the role female activists in Myanmar and Nepal play in mitigating and challenging the gendered and intersectional impact of climate crises, conflict and gendered inequalities including violence and reduced income generating opportunities.
Paper long abstract
This paper will offer critical insights into the role female activists in Myanmar and Nepal play in mitigating and challenging the gendered and intersectional impact of climate crises, conflict and gendered inequalities including violence and reduced income generating opportunities. There is urgency to understand these intersections given the ever-deteriorating climate emergency in Myanmar and Nepal, both ranked in the top five most affected countries globally. Despite the existence of female activists and networks in both contexts little is known about how they tackle the complex and multiple crises and the resulting deepening vulnerabilities of women and girls. This paper will present data gathered using multiple methods including remote data collection techniques. A women and girls centred approach was applied in order to capture the voices of those most marginalised and those working to build their resilience. The paper will share insights into the work of grass-roots activists in both contexts who are fighting climate crises, conflict and gendered inequalities.
Paper short abstract
Disasters have a disproportionate effect on women, exacerbating existing gender inequalities. The role of women's representation in policies that can either mitigate or worsen vulnerabilities faced by women. Thus integrating a gender perspective into disaster policy is essential.
Paper long abstract
Disasters have a disproportionate effect on women, deteriorating existing gender inequalities and posing unique challenges to their safety and rights. The paper examines the connexion of women's rights, national policies, and disaster contexts, emphasizing the critical need for gender-sensitive disaster management frameworks. The review highlights how state policies can either mitigate or worsen vulnerabilities faced by women during and after disasters. The inadequate representation of women in disaster management leads to ineffective responses, while gender-sensitive approaches enhance resilience and recovery outcomes is the key finding of the paper. The paper also finds gaps in existing policies including pressing issues including insufficient training for disaster responders and the lack of gender-disaggregated data, which hinder effective implementation. It also underscores the importance of women's participation in decision-making processes to ensure their needs are prioritized. The paper suggests that integrating a gender perspective into disaster policy is essential for both equity and effective disaster management. Integration among governments, NGOs, and local communities, states can develop more inclusive and equitable disaster response strategies. The findings advocate for a transformative approach to disaster governance that recognizes and addresses the unique challenges faced by women, ultimately contributing to more resilient communities.