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What does gender equality have to do with climate change? A lot more than you might think. Empowering women and girls around the world is one of the most important ways to combat carbon pollution and is projected to reduce CO2-equivalent gases by a total of 80 billion tons. Entrepreneur, scientist and TED Fellow Rumaitha Al Busaidi looks at why women are more likely to be impacted and displaced by climate catastrophes — and explains why access to education, employment and family planning for all women and girls is the key to our climate future.
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Transcriber:
When we think of solutions
to global warming,
we generally think in terms
of technology or policy,
but other approaches are necessary
which have to do with how
our societies are structured.
The most important of them
is educating and empowering
women and girls.
Now, don’t take my word for it.
Its potential impact
has been calculated by scientists.
Like, for instance,
those working on Project Drawdown,
who focus on greenhouse gas emissions.
They calculated that educating
and empowering women and girls
is one of the single most important things
that we can do to confront
carbon pollution.
It may result in a total reduction
of CO2-equivalent gases
of over 80 billion tons,
which is not far from double
the total annual global emissions.
As a marine scientist
and nature adventurer,
I’ve witnessed firsthand
how climate change
impacts the world we live in.
These climate catastrophes
have almost taken my life.
Like when I was nearly buried alive
during an avalanche
or swept away by a cyclone.
Thankfully, I survived,
but will our grandchildren
call this planet home in 2050 or 2100
if our trajectory continues?
Coming from a male-dominated society,
I’ve been asked all sorts
of intrusive questions
as to why I do what I do.
“Can you even travel alone?”
“Are you capable of climbing mountains
with your heavier figure?
I mean, are you fit enough?”
“Do you think, as a woman,
you’re equipped to do this?”
And the answer has always been, yes.
I want to show my fellow Arab women
that anything is possible,
that being a woman should not be
the end to your dreams,
that you are so much more
than what you are conditioned to be,
and that you are indeed the solution
to the crisis facing our planet.
In 2020, women made up about 40 percent
of the global workforce.
Women’s shares in the Middle East
are just under 25 percent.
And these figures are way lower
in the Gulf countries.
And considering that women
make up nearly half of the Gulf,
imagine how women’s equal
involvement in the economy
could enhance the overall
growth of the region.
Many labor laws state
that there’s no discrimination
between men and women.
Yet women’s upward mobility
is quite restricted
and many senior positions
are still being held by men.
The cultural perception
that women are more emotional
or better suited
to household responsibilities
remains a serious obstacle
for ambitious women
who end up underemployed.
So what does that have to do
with the climate?
Well, access to education,
employment and family planning
is the condition for more vibrant lives
for women and girls,
for their families
and their entire communities.
They get to earn more money,
achieve career goals
and face fewer health issues.
And not only that,
they become more resilient
and better equipped to manage
both food and nature
and to cope with the impacts
of climate change.
Women are also the ones most at risk
when it comes to impacts
of climate catastrophes like cyclones,
which have grown more frequent
in my own home country of Oman.
And why?
Well because they’re left with a charge
of the children or elderly,
they don’t know how to swim,
or simply because they never had
basic resilience skills taught to them,
like building a shelter, making a fire
or even administering basic first aid.
In fact, UN figures indicate
that 80 percent of people
displaced by climate change
are women.
And with more of these
occurrences happening,
my gender will face more of the brunt
further preventing them
from achieving their potential
and protecting themselves.
This is why I founded WomeX,
a platform where we teach women
from my community negotiation skills
to nurture a new wave
of girl bosses in the region.
WomeX is on a mission
to laying the groundwork
to combating climate change
by bridging localized context
and leadership training.
By educating more women on these skills,
we hope to equip them with the tools
that allow them to control
their careers and their lives,
and to contribute significantly
to the collective efforts
necessary to confront carbon pollution.
So far, we’ve supported a thousand
and are working hard to achieve
our ambitious goal of a million.
Now, even though it has been
on the global sustainability
radar for years,
gender parity as a climate solution
has not received
the attention it deserves.
Now is the time to make it a priority.
Now is the time to educate
and empower all women and all girls.
Thank you.
Dane Fielding
May 13, 2021 at 10:14 pm
What in the name of Saudi? 🚙
Stay Focused
May 13, 2021 at 10:17 pm
That is plain propaganda brainwash. Yep avalanches have never happened until we induced the climate change.
Lane Atkinson
May 13, 2021 at 10:57 pm
Did you watch the video…?
Stay Focused
May 13, 2021 at 11:38 pm
@Lane Atkinson yes I have.
vanyrilius
May 13, 2021 at 10:21 pm
A woman with a wrapped head talking about female empowerment.
Oh the irony
Lane Atkinson
May 13, 2021 at 10:25 pm
Maybe it’s because men will threaten to kill her if she even thinks about removing it…why do you blame women’s oppression on themselves, when men are the culprit?
Lea T.
May 13, 2021 at 10:23 pm
Nice greenscreen.
Mikko Hyyti
May 13, 2021 at 11:00 pm
That’s not a greenscreen. 😀 Or it is and for some reason they spend as much money on filming and compositing this as Feature Films spend. Which is hard to believe since they could have just saved the money and shoot on location.
CHIPMUNK RAPIDS MADMAN
May 13, 2021 at 10:30 pm
I could fit all my worldly possessions in and on a rucksack were it not for my being married.
Smudyx
May 13, 2021 at 10:31 pm
Just stfu
Gol D. Vanish
May 13, 2021 at 10:37 pm
Yes, finally someone that clearly has the solution to climate change. WOMEN! its not the combined effort of both men and women that will solve this world problem, its only women.
Lane Atkinson
May 13, 2021 at 10:56 pm
Way to miss the point 👍 Perpetual victim
Samtagri
May 13, 2021 at 10:38 pm
You know how Morgan Freeman said the way to solve racism against African Americans is to stop talking about it. I wish women get the memo one day.
Lane Atkinson
May 13, 2021 at 10:56 pm
I wish morons would stop leaving irrelevant comments on videos they don’t understand.
Ryan McBride
May 13, 2021 at 10:43 pm
just a reminder that the real solution for climate change is holding large corporations accountable 🥰
Williams Andrew
May 13, 2021 at 11:08 pm
In few years or so people will definitely be kicking themselves in regret for missing the opportunity to buy and invest in cryptocurrency
Paul Bryan
May 14, 2021 at 12:36 am
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Gary Patrick
May 14, 2021 at 12:52 am
How do I contact Mr Jayden mason ?
Julie Adam
May 14, 2021 at 1:07 am
@Gary Patrick He’s availability is on What’s-app
Julie Adam
May 14, 2021 at 1:07 am
+1_3_1_9_9_8_3_5_1_4_0
Gary Patrick
May 14, 2021 at 1:21 am
Thanks for he’s contact info I’ll get to him right away
Наталья
May 13, 2021 at 11:09 pm
THANK YOU!!!!!!!
Наталья
May 13, 2021 at 11:10 pm
Everyone should watch
Krunoslav Stifter
May 13, 2021 at 11:11 pm
This woke feminist Communism is poison. And off course its front and center on TED. Platform for ideologies no one should share.
Steve B
May 13, 2021 at 11:17 pm
They want to convince you the number one thing you can do is don’t have children …don’t believe their lies, find a good partner and have a family
Irving Peenwiddle
May 13, 2021 at 11:19 pm
Don’t buy the climate lie.
Bùi Minh Lê
May 14, 2021 at 12:22 am
🤩🤩
youcouldnt bustagrape
May 14, 2021 at 12:34 am
Alright I admire her courage and intelligence. But the Islamic oil producing countries will not give up its dominant resource, or its domination of women. Ever.
NewVideoTech3000
May 14, 2021 at 12:41 am
Male dominated is the de facto, you will feel even worst when it’s corporate dominated market dominated
PVAR
May 14, 2021 at 12:48 am
First you remove your head scarf, then you can walk alone
eralv5
May 14, 2021 at 1:04 am
So sad im a men so imcant change anything, hope girls fix it soon.
Bùi Minh Lê
May 14, 2021 at 1:11 am
…
Silver Somnium
May 14, 2021 at 1:16 am
How shameful
James Kulevich
May 14, 2021 at 1:24 am
Yet more nonsense from TedTalks. The world has had periods with no polar ice. This is a natural phenomenon. The California fires were worse 100 years ago & even worse 200 years ago. The CO2 level is low. They’re blowing it out of proportion. Study: Do your homework & wake up.
R
May 14, 2021 at 4:18 am
What does gender equality have to do with climate change? Not a whole lot since they wrapped it up here in less than half the time a normal ted talk video would be.
Fadhlan shiddiq
May 14, 2021 at 5:51 am
True
CoffeePoints
May 14, 2021 at 4:21 am
I’m just here because I know some neckbeards are gonna be triggered in the comments section
squidward
May 14, 2021 at 4:42 am
an actual muslim feminazi 🤡
question ade
May 14, 2021 at 4:57 am
Absolute boloney from start to finish. It’s not often so much utter nonsense is crammed into such a short period of time. Lectured by a brain dead moron who thinks cyclones effect woman and girls more because they can’t swim. She actually said that with a straight face, sadly I think she does believe it. Anyone who honestly thinks the ever changing name religious hoax, sometimes called ‘global warming’ and often known as ‘climate change/crisis’ is science, needs their head tested. CO2 is the gas of life, this is basic elementry science. Anthropological climate change/global warming or whatever they are calling it this week. Even the IPCC now admit is not happening. Didn’t this half wit get the memo?
Meow Milev
May 14, 2021 at 5:05 am
*Coming from a fat naive arab women which hasn’t undergo her puberty yet!* She can start removing her hijab abuse first…
Yasha
May 14, 2021 at 5:11 am
Are you insane? So this is like a scientist looks like? Empowering women is the key to reducing pollutions? Am I saying this right? What a shame.
Netizen's United
May 14, 2021 at 6:21 am
*GREEN WASHING ALERT!* How does teaching women “negotiation skills” to become “women bosses” help the polar bears from drowning? How do any of the office skills mentioned help anyone change the weather? Honestly, TED is just a massive troll now! 🤣
LetsGenocide
May 14, 2021 at 9:46 am
She’s saying that we need more educated people in the world and we’re currently still handicapping ourselves by conditioning women. More educated mothers will be able to educate their children to more effectively fight climate change. I’m honestly upset that people see her speech as trolling :/
Netizen's United
May 14, 2021 at 10:58 am
@LetsGenocide — I’m honestly upset that people like you can’t see (or say) that the problems her speech addresses are problem almost exclusively with Islam and NOT climate change!
Even in the poorest S.E. Asian countries, women have long been included in society; which includes literacy, property ownership, and yes, things as simple as driving a car! But how does this pertain to climate change?
I said that TED (this channel) is a “troll” inasmuch that it injects its naked Leftist agenda into any and every topic, no matter how remote or asinine. I’m fine with educating women, but that has NOTHING to do with the climate; the argument is extremely remote by any stretch of the imagination … but again, TED will make anything political.
This channel was once a great resource to access great ideas from great minds. Now it’s just a soap box for Leftist propaganda!
LetsGenocide
May 14, 2021 at 12:06 pm
@Netizen’s United I agree that her speech does not address any of the issues directly and does not provide us with the actual solution to the problem, and TED knew better than that. Thanks for the well explained point of view, I take my words back
Stefan Nagy
May 14, 2021 at 6:42 am
We cannot achieve a reduction of 2 degrees by the end of the century without making strides with Trans rights and racial equity <3
Liu
May 14, 2021 at 8:13 am
I don’t see the relation between education, women, negotiation skills, being a boss and ecology…So what is the main issue?
Danny Boahhh
May 14, 2021 at 12:48 pm
Intersectional identity, duuuuuh!
And, if they “educate” all the women to belive Global Warming, that means you can’t plant your jewels without believing in Global Warming
Lane Atkinson
May 14, 2021 at 2:58 pm
Relationship between education and women: women have unequal access to education in many countries. Relationship between women and negotiations/being a boss: women are often thought of as lacking these skills and are seen as unfit to be bosses. Relationship between all of this and ecology: more education = less poverty, less poverty = more money and more innovation, more innovation = better planet. tl;dr: more women educated = more brains and hands to help this crisis.
Maximilian _K.
May 14, 2021 at 9:13 pm
@Lane Atkinson But more gender equality comes with every stage of development of poorer countries. So why don’t just support developing countries in general?
Lane Atkinson
May 15, 2021 at 10:03 am
@Maximilian _K. Is there something wrong with prioritizing women’s education?
Maximilian _K.
May 15, 2021 at 11:43 am
@Lane Atkinson Of course not, but in muslim dominated countries this approach might lead to resistance, which then again could have a counter productive effect. In my optinion, the best way to influence developing countries from a standpoint of more equality in career opportunities and education is to loosen the governments grip on the media and making unregulated internet widely accessible. Therefore projects like Starlink should be prioritized.
Lane Atkinson
May 15, 2021 at 4:28 pm
@Maximilian _K. I don’t see how these processes wouldn’t be able to happen at the same time, and I definitely think women’s rights are worth the backlash. Something’s gotta give.
CRISTINA GARCIA TRAPERO
May 14, 2021 at 8:45 am
Not having kids is the best thing we can do for the climate. Each person produces tons of carbon emissions every year. And the world is already overopulated
Dim ‘S
May 14, 2021 at 8:56 am
Pitiful. Unsuscribed
HauptmannDE
May 14, 2021 at 9:18 am
Does anyone take this propaganda serious?
SavageHippie
May 14, 2021 at 9:38 am
All this emotional hearts string pulling, feminism this feminism that, people see through the bullshit I hope.
Even men are hardly men anymore, there’s a reason this society is male dominated, and it’s not because your so hard trodden on.
Lane Atkinson
May 14, 2021 at 3:03 pm
You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity.
Varun S Kumar
May 14, 2021 at 10:24 am
From what I understood, this is more about empowering women to combat climate change than women reducing climate change.
Lane Atkinson
May 14, 2021 at 2:59 pm
You understood correctly, which is more than can be said for the majority of the people commenting here! 🙂
Eleanor Scott
May 14, 2021 at 11:27 am
Loved this TED Talk, we are all part of the climate solution.
Boris S.
May 14, 2021 at 12:15 pm
Start by using contraception Educating Men. Stop the where possible 4 wife policy of Islam. It’s 2021 since 2000 some countries have doubled their population.. Gender parity will never happen under an Islamic Caliphate as all the Trusted Sources state otherwise.. I’m afraid Tariq Ramadan’s word is really meaning a phobia is an irrational fear of a thing or subject they have an irrational fear unless they follow the Trusted Sources they will never make it to a mythical place that there is no proof it exists after death.
Big Dee
May 14, 2021 at 12:18 pm
Have the libtards shut their air conditioning off ….
Big Dee
May 14, 2021 at 12:18 pm
This is absolute crap 💩
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May 14, 2021 at 12:47 pm
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May 14, 2021 at 1:28 pm
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May 14, 2021 at 1:32 pm
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Maximilian _K.
May 14, 2021 at 9:07 pm
Use your money on a good english teacher and stop luring people into fishy online courses of some crypto guru🙃
Maximilian _K.
May 14, 2021 at 9:08 pm
@Eddy Lester don’t be stupid its a scam
JVíctor GM
May 14, 2021 at 12:54 pm
I’m just astonished at the level of macho comments in here, both coming from men and some women.
As she states, women are underrepresented in general terms (yes, even in the western societies) and that’s, not only of superb stupidity, but also something that is dragging down to catastrophe to the whole of the human population and preventing ourselves of achieving a better future. Some studies, such as Motesharrei (2014, Ecological Economics 101) show how unequal societies head mathematically towards collapse, or how the inequality in women may cause a severe strees in their bodies, causing problems to future fetuses (Ishaq, 2019, 26 PLOS Biology).
It seems incredible being 2021, but we must remind ourselves that we all come from women and there’s no future for anyone unless there’s equity for all (hence why we have SDG 5 and why the UN and the IPCC have pointed this out on their reports).
So, thank you for stressing this out Mrs Al Busaidi. You talk for humanity!
Colton
May 14, 2021 at 1:29 pm
Power to the women, but wtf bruh, me as a man, not a part of the solution now… 🥲 waaaaaaaa
Lane Atkinson
May 14, 2021 at 3:01 pm
Way to miss the point bro
Lisa Love Ministries
May 14, 2021 at 3:26 pm
Revelation 3:19
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.Therefore be zealous and repent”
JSH
May 14, 2021 at 3:26 pm
Over 50 years of failed climate predictions and people still believe in the CO2 scam. If you believe CO2 heats the atmosphere, you are suffering from a mass delusion.
Pragmatic Prepper
May 14, 2021 at 4:01 pm
Still trying to figure out how this is tied to climate change. Nothing said will help with climate change!?!?
asdfasdfasdfasdf
May 17, 2021 at 9:11 am
not correct. she said it all. its true that education and empowering women can help. I think many women in high-tier positions would do better and more sustainable decisions than the greedy male-brain that only cares about profit.
asdfasdfasdfasdf
May 17, 2021 at 9:12 am
maybe its not even so much about gender but mainly about education.
giraffe1219
May 17, 2021 at 1:12 pm
She more means women need to be encouraged to get educated and contribute to all kinds of world issues. She just used climate change as a focus because that’s what she is most familiar with.
Depressed Alien
May 14, 2021 at 5:43 pm
People are going to miss the point of this video I just know it…
Tango Dove.
May 15, 2021 at 9:00 am
Excellent…👍
M P
May 15, 2021 at 9:20 am
And why they shouldn’t be?
Prince ct
May 15, 2021 at 11:40 am
Excellent . It helped me a lot to learn English . I really enjoyed this
Michelle Evelyn Alexandro
May 15, 2021 at 8:54 pm
Receiving 11,500 USD after investing 100 USD, this is what i never expected. Thanks for putting an undying smile on my face again.
INVEST AND EARN BIG WITH BITCOIN MINING….
Charles Campbell
May 16, 2021 at 1:31 pm
“Females!” – Male
Fatih Keser
May 16, 2021 at 4:51 pm
Nice!
asdfasdfasdfasdf
May 17, 2021 at 9:07 am
Why so many dislikes? All scared men who fear for their irrational “superiority”? I thought the video was great. Thank you.
asdfasdfasdfasdf
May 17, 2021 at 9:32 am
Reading through these comments makes me realize there lays a lot of work ahead. people are not understanding. we need change now. Thank you for being a part of that change Rumaitha.
Kyle M
May 17, 2021 at 9:44 am
Disgustingly prentious cringy SJW garbage.
T A
May 17, 2021 at 4:50 pm
Girls, women, boys and men.
Also nuclear energy would help as well.
If you do not include nuclear energy as a solution or at the very least support it, and just want to go with “feel good” or popular ideas that won’t really help.
You have zero business in saving the world.
Інеска Радь
May 18, 2021 at 2:11 pm
It’ve thought it’s gonna be the lecture on using eco-friendly hygiene tools.
Инесса Радь
May 18, 2021 at 2:11 pm
It’ve thought it’s gonna be the lecture on using eco-friendly hygiene tools.
Інеска
May 18, 2021 at 2:11 pm
It’ve thought it’s gonna be the lecture on using eco-friendly hygiene tools.
Gotta Go
May 19, 2021 at 12:53 am
Just make sure if your a women to cover yourself from head to toe or get dealt with.
Rabari Mehul
May 19, 2021 at 1:47 pm
Yes she is 100% right.
Tschack Norris
May 20, 2021 at 4:23 pm
what was that😂
Tschack Norris
May 20, 2021 at 4:24 pm
What does it have to do with her being a woman that she is not fit at all? I may miss a point here, but I think that was just freaking stupid.