Women need to play a reinforced role in the race to net-zero this International Women’s Day

It’s estimated 80% of people displaced by climate change are women and women are 14 times more likely to die during environmental disasters. Additionally, across the globe, women make up the majority of the workforce in sectors like agriculture, thus would be disproportionately affected by extreme weather conditions.

Sectors benefitting the most from the transition to net-zero are utilities, construction and manufacturing and the issue with these sectors is there is a very low percentage of women making up the workforce.

Governments and businesses alike need to work together to ensure both women and men equally are a part of the transition to net-zero.

For International Women’s Day, we remember the immeasurable role women play in society. This is why ACCA is calling for women’s voices must be heard in a space where men dominate the climate agenda. This directly relates to two of the UN Sustainable Development Goals – SDG 5 on gender equality and SDG 13 on climate change.

The climate agenda is redefining the world of business long-term over the coming decades and it’s important for us to understand the role women can play in this challenge.

This is also a crucial subject for the accountancy profession. ACCA is a pioneer for change in business reporting, which is a pivotal part of many accountants work. Financial reports must account not just the bottom line, but impact a business is making on society and the planet.’

To also celebrate this occasion, ACCA has spoken to several panellists from the recent online event we hosted on why International Women’s Day is an important date and how women can help in the transition to a more sustainable future.

So the session was a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of the role of women in tackling the climate crisis. We’re talking about real climate risk because unless we increase the availability of green jobs to women, we will slow our journey to net-zero and widen the gender inequality gap.