Climate risk is not gender-neutral — Our climate data should not be either

Climate data increasingly shapes decisions about where adaptation finance is directed, which agricultural systems receive support, and which communities are prioritized for climate-resilience programmes. Yet many climate-risk assessments still focus predominantly on the physical location and intensity of hazards. They tell us where temperatures are rising, droughts are becoming more frequent, floods are intensifying, or growing seasons are shortening. What they often fail to show is who is exposed, why some people are more vulnerable than others, and who has the resources and agency needed to adapt. The newly adapted Africa Adaptation Atlas Notebook “Analyze Women’s Exposure to Climate Hazards” offers an integrated view of gendered climate data, and allows users to explore hazards as well as vulnerability, exposure, and adaptive capacities from a gender lens. Climate risk is not gender neutral, our climate data should not be either.