Analysis of gender vulnerability to climate-related hazards in a rural area of Ethiopia

Abstract

Identifying areas of the world, communities, and women and men that could be damaged by meteorological events (like droughts and floods) has been crucial for vulnerability studies in the last decade. Climate change may differently affect female- and male-headed households, especially in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, where they react in a different way to the effects of adverse weather events. The aim of this work was to analyse a population's vulnerability and resilience to climate-related hazards, applying a sex-disaggregated, quantitative methodology at household level. This study was realised in three Woredas (Siraro, Shalla, and Shashemene) of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia. The information used for the evaluation included climatic conditions, socio-economic variables and natural resource availability. All data collected were analysed after disaggregation by sex. Evaluation of the indices shows that the vulnerability of the households is particularly related to the presence of governmental infrastructure, availability of water sources, and external aid. The study reveals that the Woreda of Siraro is the most vulnerable. A better situation appears in the Woredas of Shalla and Shashemene, where women and men have more skills to face vulnerability, as highlighted by the “recovery potential” index. On the other hand, the study points out some differences between women and men. While male-headed households mainly have low vulnerability and high resilience, female-headed households are divided into two main classes: low vulnerability associated with low resilience, and low vulnerability associated with high resilience. When the vulnerability is higher, both women and men show higher resilience.