Heat doesn't affect us all equally. Wen, the Birth Companions Institute and Friends of the Earth have co-authored Heatwaves and Women - a report examining how rising temperatures in the UK intersect with women’s health and existing inequalities.
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This was a summer of record-breaking heat, fire and drought. By early August, the UK had experienced its fifth heatwave, placing significant pressure on public services, infrastructure and food production, while disproportionately affecting those least able to cope. Extreme heat is a growing public health and economic risk, and a critical test of our resilience. But resilience is not evenly distributed. Inequality shapes who is most exposed, who can cope and who pays the greatest price. Our homes, workplaces, income, health and caring responsibilities all shape our exposure to heat. For women, these pressures intersect with gender-specific health risks and inequalities in housing, employment, income, care, safety and political power. Understanding these differences is essential if we are to prepare properly for a hotter future.
This report seeks to give a comprehensive overview of the ways in which women are disproportionately impacted by heatwaves and extreme heat. Each of the contributing organisations approaches the impact of extreme heat through a slightly different lens. Wen brings an intersectional feminist approach, exploring the impact of the climate crisis and systemic inequality on women in particular, and working to ensure women are part of shaping the solutions; Friends of the Earth has extensive expertise in the mapping of heat exposure and a justice-based approach to adaptation; the Birth Companions Institute brings expertise on pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. Each organisation approaches extreme heat from a different angle, but all recognise the need for urgent action on this increasingly pressing issue.
