Heat and Hurdles: Unpacking the Impact of Climate Risks on Women's Empowerment

City Eldeep, Fida Karam () and Chahir Zaki ()
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City Eldeep: Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)
Fida Karam: GUST - Gulf University for Science and Technology
Chahir Zaki: LEO - Laboratoire d'Économie d'Orleans [2022-...] - UO - Université d'Orléans - UT - Université de Tours - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne

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Abstract: Climate change poses complex risks that extend beyond environmental impacts, shaping social and economic inequalities. This paper examines how physical risks, such as extreme weather, and transition risks, linked to decarbonization and green policies, affect women's empowerment in firms across developing and developed contexts. Using firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys and World Development Indicators, we measure empowerment through female employment, management, and ownership. Our results reveal contrasting effects: physical risks reduce female ownership, while transition risks boost female management, particularly in smaller, younger, non-exporting, and non-privately owned firms. The negative impact of physical risks is largely uniform, except in foreign-owned firms, and operates mainly through constraints on finance and land. These findings highlight the need for integrated climate and gender policies that recognize women not only as vulnerable to climate change but also as key agents of sustainable economic transformation.

Keywords: Gender physical risk climate risk female owners female managers climate change. JEL classification:; Gender; physical risk; climate risk; female owners; female managers; climate change. JEL classification: (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-03-04
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-05505905

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18612219

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