“Women participate in agricultural activities to varying degrees around the world. Among the farmers most vulnerable to the effects of climate change are women, who make up an estimated 43% of the agricultural labor force in developing countries…It is crucial that researchers and development practitioners understand, how women access information, what type of information they want, and need, but also how to effectively engage them in the processes that diffuse climate information.”
A team of researchers at the University of Florida sought to examine how gender is, or isn’t, being considered in the current understanding of climate information services. The working paper, “Investigating climate information services through a gendered lens” demonstrates how and why women farmers are overwhelmingly left out of the communication channels that at the same time are critical to their ability to adapt. It proposes that ‘hybridization’ of traditional methods of communication and modern technologies are useful in sharing new scientific, climate knowledge with farmers. Hence, new ICTs coupled with local social networks and traditional methods of communication, can be effective tools for sharing climate information with women farmers.
To learn more about this, visit https://ccafs.cgiar.org/gender-being-considered-within-climate-services#.VwuzImR94y4