Melissa Hernández is an LLM student in Human Rights Advocacy at NOVA School of Law and Research Associate at NOVA BHRE. With a background in International Relations, she specializes in socio-environmental conflict mediation and green economic cooperation. Melissa is currently a collaborator in UN Women’s #GenerationEquality campaign, focusing on ecofeminism, youth advocacy, and the Escazú Agreement.
Maria Kaizeler is an undergraduate Law student at NOVA School of Law and a Research Assistant at NOVA BHRE. Her work focuses on the intersection of corporate responsibility, sustainability, and human rights. She was recently selected for the Council of Europe’s specialized training on Artificial Intelligence, Non-Discrimination and Equality. Maria is also actively involved in global advocacy initiatives, including the UN Women HeForShe movement, where she promotes gender equality.
Climate change is widely recognized as a global crisis. However, it is less frequently acknowledged as a crisis of inequality.
The climate crisis is not gender neutral. Across regions and sectors, environmental degradation and climate change intensify pre-existing inequalities, disproportionately affecting women while also highlighting their critical role as agents of change. As economies shift toward low-carbon, climate-resilient models, the just transition framework has emerged to ensure that environmental transformation promotes social equity rather than exacerbates exclusion. In this context, businesses play a pivotal role in shaping production systems, investment flows, and labor markets. Integrating gender equality into corporate governance and sustainability strategies is essential. Promoting women’s leadership in business is fundamental to achieving a gender-responsive transition rooted in justice, accountability, and resilience.
Environmental Harm Has a Gendered Impact
Women and men experience and respond to climate change in distinct ways. Social, economic, and cultural factors intersect with gender, shaping power dynamics and influencing how individuals confront and manage climate change and ecological stressors.
Predominantly, women are more vulnerable due to their greater dependence on natural resources and structural inequity in their access and control of such resources.
Gender roles and responsibilities influence migration decisions in response to climate risks. Women frequently face greater obstacles to leaving disaster-prone areas due to caregiving responsibilities, limited financial resources, and restricted land and property rights. Upon migration, girls and women are at heightened risk of unemployment, child marriage, human trafficking, and gender-based violence. [1]
By 2050, under a worst-case climate scenario, climate change could result in up to 158.3 million additional women and girls living in extreme poverty (below $2.15 per day) worldwide. If higher international poverty thresholds are applied, the number of women and girls affected increases significantly: 309.7 million at $3.65 per day and 422.0 million at $6.85 per day, which is up to 16.1 million more than the number of men and boys impacted. [2]
How can empowering women help fight climate change?
When managed effectively, shifts in gender norms, behaviors, and expectations during crises can create opportunities to include traditionally marginalized groups in leadership and policy-making. For instance, as women assume greater responsibility for livelihoods, opportunities arise for their engagement in leadership roles, such as natural resource governance or dispute resolution. Leveraging women’s social networks can also facilitate alternative communication channels and foster broader dialogue. These processes can highlight women’s capacities as decision-makers and increase their participation in political and peacebuilding initiative. [3]
Women as Leaders in Businesses and a Just Transition
Although women are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation, they are also central agents in advancing sustainable development and reshaping economic systems. In the context of a just transition, which seeks to shift economies toward low-carbon, environmentally sustainable models while ensuring that no one is left behind, women’s leadership in business is both a matter of equity and a strategic necessity.
A gender-responsive just transition requires transforming not only energy systems and production models, but also corporate governance structures and decision-making cultures. Research indicates that female leadership is positively correlated with stronger environmental performance and the adoption of green practices, demonstrating that women leaders can directly influence how firms manage environmental impacts and sustainability strategies. [4] Studies examining data across thousands of companies found that increases in female leadership are associated with measurable improvements in environmental performance indicators, including energy management and emissions monitoring.
Despite this potential, women remain underrepresented in senior management and executive roles, especially in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, and technology, which are pivotal to the green transition. According to recent statistics, although women hold a majority of executive positions in corporate sustainability functions, they still represent a smaller portion of general executive roles in large firms, reflecting persistent structural barriers to equitable leadership.[5] These disparities are often driven by unequal access to finance, limited professional networks, and entrenched gender norms that constrain women’s entrepreneurial and managerial trajectories.
Transformative corporate leadership that embraces feminist principles can play a key role in advancing just transitions. Feminist leadership prioritizes collaboration, accountability, and inclusion, emphasizing long-term value creation over short-term profit maximization. This approach aligns with sustainable business models that integrate environmental stewardship, social equity, and economic resilience. For example, women-led enterprises frequently emphasize sustainability initiatives, innovative climate solutions, and socially oriented business goals that contribute to both environmental and societal well-being. [6]
Embedding women’s leadership in business is not only about increasing representation; it requires reimagining corporate governance to integrate justice, ecological boundaries, and human rights at the core of decision-making. A just transition that incorporates feminist leadership principles can accelerate climate action while advancing gender equality, social cohesion, and long-term resilience.
Conclusion
The transition toward a global green economy transcends technical and financial adjustments. It represents a fundamental shift in corporate and systemic governance. The evidence presented is unequivocal: integrating a gender-responsive lens into climate strategies is not merely a matter of social responsibility, but a strategic imperative for long-term institutional resilience.
For a transition to be truly just, the private sector must move beyond symbolic representation and proactively restructure decision-making frameworks. By placing women’s leadership and environmental justice at the core of corporate value systems, businesses can ensure that the shift toward sustainability is both equitable and effective. Ultimately, the success of the global climate agenda depends on an inclusive paradigm, one that recognizes gender equality as the cornerstone of a resilient and accountable future.
Suggested citation: M. Hernández & M. Kaizeler, ‘Women, Business and Environmental Justice: Advancing a Gender-Responsive Just Transition’, NOVA BHRE Blog, 8 March 2026
References:
[1] GBV AoR Helpdesk. (2021). Climate Change and Gender-Based Violence: What are the links? Gender-Based Violence Area of Responsibility. Available at: https://gbvaor.net/sites/default/files/2021-03/gbv-aor-helpdesk-climate-change-gbv-19032021.pdf
[2] UN Women & UN DESA. (2025). Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2025. United Nations. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/progress-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-the-gender-snapshot-2025-en.pdf
[3] UNEP, UN Women, UNDP, & UNDPPA. (2020). Gender, Climate & Security: Sustaining inclusive peace on the frontlines of climate change. United Nations Environment Programme. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2020/Gender-climate-and-security-en.pdf
[4] Rafael Duarte Lisboa Paschoaleto & Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso, 2026. “The Role of Female Leadership in Firms’ Environmental Performance,” Working Papers 2026.02, International Network for Economic Research – INFER.
[5] Faezeh Shafiee, Plastiks; Women in Sustainability: 63% Now Hold Executive Roles 2025.
[6] WOMEN’S FORUM. WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS ARE ESSENTIAL TO A JUST RECOVERY AND A GREEN TRANSITION, 2025.