I Believe Women Empowerment Is the Key

Empowering women will lead our earth to paths of healing.

We know that with access to education, family planning and birth control, women can choose how many children to have and when they have them. With this access, women make choices to have fewer children and often start families later in life, in both rural and urban areas. Slowing down the growth of population relieves stress on ecosystems, which allows resources to recover from overuse, protecting local food access.

With these kinds of resources, women also earn more money, achieve career goals and face fewer health issues. Rural women see higher crop yields when educated, which provides better nutrition and financial stability for their families.

Family planning focuses on healthcare provisions and meeting women’s expressed needs. Empowerment, equality, and well-being are the result; the benefits to the planet are positive offshoots.

I believe that slowing population growth isn’t the only sustainable benefit to empowering women. Women also hold valuable knowledge for adapting to climate change.

If given equal right to access loans, legislative processes, and land ownership, it would mean that the other half of the population would be included in the workforce and sustainability decisions. And how would this ever be a bad thing? Equaling out the playing field, it’s not only a human right, but it’s also the smart move to make. If 50 percent of the population is underperforming, whether by choice or lack thereof, the economy will not flourish. Women’s economic empowerment is empowering society. If we have all hands on deck, and equal access to education in tackling some of the earth’s problems, we could do so much more in every corner of our world for our shared earth.

The climate crisis has never been gender neutral. The empowerment of women is vital, and we need a global community to combat environmental issues. Women that are empowered and have a voice are strong women. When you include all voices, building a sustainable and prosperous future seems like a goal that is far more reachable to me.