Gendered Impacts of Climate Change on Rural Women Farmers

Abstract

Climate change poses an existential threat to global smallholder agriculture, yet the distinct ways rural women farmers experience and respond to climate stressors remain systematically least addressed in both research and policy. This study employed a qualitative case study design in the semi-arid Barind Tract of northwestern Bangladesh to examine the gendered impacts of climate change on rural women farmers, with data collected through in depth interviews, focus group discussions, seasonal calendars, and photovoice with 45 women farmers stratified by marital status, age, and land ownership. Guided by feminist political ecology and intersectionality, the findings revealed four principal outcomes. Female headed households experienced 42 percent post drought crop yield losses compared to 31 percent for male headed households. Women spent 4.0 more hours per day collecting water during dry spells, reducing farm time by 62 percent while men reduced farm time by only 18 percent. Men predominantly adopted technological solutions such as drip irrigation and improved seeds, whereas women relied on low cost, labor intensive strategies including changing planting dates, intercropping, and reducing meals. Only 12 percent of women had spoken to an agricultural extension agent in the past year compared to 72 percent of men. An unexpected finding showed that 94 percent of women participate in informal seed sharing and labor rotation networks that operate entirely outside formal systems. The study introduces the concept of time squeezed adaptation as a uniquely gendered climate burden and argues that land tenure reform, extension restructuring, and inclusion of childcare and water infrastructure in adaptation budgets are urgent policy priorities. Closing the gender gap in agricultural resources is not merely a social justice measure but a prerequisite for effective climate resilience.

Keywords: Gendered Climate Impacts, Rural Women Farmers, Feminist Political Ecology, Time Squeezed Adaptation, Institutional Exclusion, Climate Smart Agriculture