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CEVAW Curtin Node Launches Workshop Series
On Friday 30 May 2025, the CEVAW Curtin Node held its first workshop in the Gender in Focus Workshop Series: Gender and Climate Change. This workshop brought together researchers and policy experts to explore how climate change impacts women and gender-diverse communities, and how gendered responses are critical to achieving long-term climate resilience.
Policy, Power and Women Driving Change
The day opened with a compelling keynote by Rachel Siewert, former Senator for Western Australia and current Deputy CEO of the Western Australian Council of Social Services (WACOSS), a CEVAW partner organisation. Drawing on decades of experience in Parliament and the community sector, Rachel shared lessons on navigating the long, often complex road to policy reform.
“Research and data are critical to achieving change, but that alone won’t deliver policy outcomes,” she said. “It takes collective action, public engagement, and collaboration across communities and sectors, especially when dealing with a long-term challenge like climate change, where vested interests often prioritise short-term gains.”
Rachel underscored the need for more women in politics and decision-making roles, highlighting recent findings from Asongu and Messono’s research, which links political empowerment of women to reduced vulnerability to climate shocks. Reflecting on her career, she noted: “I’ve seen the power of women working together to achieve change, and in my view, it is imperative that this continues and grows.”
“I’ve seen the power of women working together to achieve change, and in my view, it is imperative that this continues and grows.”
Research Insights from Across the Region
The remainder of the day featured a multidisciplinary set of presentations and discussions, covering critical intersections between gender, climate, violence, and agriculture.
- Ha Nguyen presented the first comprehensive analysis of how cyclones influence fertility patterns in Australia, shedding light on the intimate and long-term family-level impacts of extreme weather.
- Michelle Escobar Carias explored how cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) can help individuals build resilience to climate-related shocks.
- Lucas Hertzog addressed the complex links between drought and violence against women, drawing attention to the gender data gap and biases in data collection. His findings revealed a surge in child marriage rates in drought-stricken communities, where families are forced into desperate decisions, such as marrying off young daughters in exchange for food or livestock.
- Sonia Akter presented research from Cambodia focused on the feminisation of agriculture. She highlighted the lack of datasets on women’s participation in agricultural decision-making and labour, and identified key drivers of feminisation, including crop diversification, outmigration, and shifts in household livelihoods.
- Fay Rola-Rubzen examined the acute climate vulnerabilities faced in Asia due to the region’s dependence on agriculture. Her literature review called for gender-responsive agricultural extension systems, including the recruitment of more women officers and the creation of training programs tailored to cultural contexts.
“Gender equity is not only a matter of justice,” she stated. “It is a necessity for effective and sustainable climate adaptation.”
Participants engaged in robust discussions and networking sessions throughout the day, sharing feedback, identifying research gaps, and exploring opportunities for future collaboration. Workshop sessions reflected CEVAW’s core mission: to centre the lived experiences of women and marginalised communities in research, and to translate that research into action.
The Gender and Climate Change workshop marks a strong beginning for the Gender in Focus series and reinforces CEVAW’s commitment to fostering interdisciplinary, survivor-centred research that addresses the most urgent global challenges.