Unit summary
In this unit you learned that women are emerging as powerful change makers in the face of climate change. They are adapting to and mitigating its impacts through their deep understanding of local ecosystems and climate patterns. Their traditional practices — for example, agroforestry and sustainable forestry — enhance soil fertility, conserve water, promote biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Women also play a crucial role in promoting renewable energy sources and energy-efficient practices within their communities.
Their contributions to addressing climate-related challenges extend beyond their direct livelihood activities, making them essential partners in developing climate-resilient communities. Social enterprises that are gender-sensitive and climate-responsive require a supportive environment of societal reforms, including environmental and educational reforms. Education is crucial to building a supportive environment for linking social enterprises to gender-sensitivity and climate responsibility.
There is a growing movement to promote community businesses that are gender-sensitive and climate-responsive. These businesses are designed to consider the impacts of climate change. They are often at the forefront of innovating new products and services that are tailored to the specific needs of their communities.
You also learned that climate-responsive and gender-sensitive enterprises face an interesting dilemma because they need to meet emerging needs of communities and address context-specific issues and concerns. Textbook methods and the conventional rules of business may not be the best choice for these organisations. Instead, they need to follow the traditional best practices of the communities in which they operate in order to respond to the local context, environment and culture.
The most important part of developing a business model from the perspective of climate change and gender equality is imagining the scope of the business from the perspective of everyday life and emerging contexts and behavioural patterns of the community, and being able to integrate them into an economically viable business model.
