20 Inspiring Posts to Celebrate Women's Day

Impediments to Women in the Workforce Inhibit Environmental Action

Decreasing barriers to women in the workplace can shift the balance of power and help us to move forward on a host of sustainability issues.

Women’s Day was celebrated on March 8, so this is an opportune time to review the importance of women to the health of the planet. While women represent roughly half of the population, they have yet to assume their rightful role at the highest levels of decision making.

We have good reason to believe that as the power of women grows, they will be a civilizing force in business. There are a number of female environmentalists who have played pivotal roles over the years. There are also a number of studies which show that women are better for the environment than their male counterparts.

Here is a series of comprehensive lists of female environmentalists from well known environmental organizations and individuals. From activists to sustainability focused business women, this ethnically and geographically diverse group of women includes both young and old and everything in between.

While we are seeing a growing number of young feminist climate activists, there is still so much that needs to be done in the area of gender equality. The inclusion of women is key to climate action. Whether in the workplace or in the home, women are the greener sex. Simply put, empowering women is synonymous with climate action.

The inauguration of Donald Trump marks the start of a very dark time in the history of the world. However, it has also given birth to a movement that gives us reason to hope.

The scale of the protests against Trump is unprecedented. The protests started even before inauguration day and they steadily grew. These protests culminated in the Women's March in Washington D.C., across the US and throughout much of the world. This was not your average protest. It was the largest March in US history with almost three million Americans participating in every state in the union. This protest was larger than even the biggest civil rights protests, there were more people present to protest Trump than there were at protests against the Vietnam war, this event even dwarfed the Million Man March.

March 8, is International Women's Day, the most appropriate day in the calendar year to recognize the work done by women in the service of the planet and its inhabitants. Throughout history there have been a number of female environmentalists who have shown inspired leadership. Here are some of those women as reviewed in the Huffington Post.

Rachel Carson

Rachel Carson is often credited with launching modern environmentalism in the U.S. after releasing the famed book Silent Spring, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.

On International Women's Day 2016 we mourn the loss of Berta Cáceres, a truly heroic environmental organizer. On March 3rd she was gunned down in her hometown of La Esperanza, Intibuca in Honduras. Her assassins are still at large and unlikely to ever be brought to justice.

Berta was an indigenous women who championed land and resource rights. In 1993 she co-founded the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). She was a dedicated protector of the natural world who bravely stood up to powerful corporations, corrupt governments and police with ties to death squads.

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Sheila Watt-Cloutier is an Inuit activist who was instrumental in helping the world understand the link between climate change impacts in the Arctic and human rights. At 60, this grandmother continues to be a leader of human rights for people living in the Arctic. Although she currently lives in Iqaluit, she was born into a traditional Inuit family in Kuujjuaq, in Northern Quebec's Nunavik region.

If we want to address climate change around the world and in the developing world in particular we need to see more women in leadership roles. There is good evidence to support the idea that when women lead communities are more sustainable.

Climate change is a critical issue for everyone, but it is especially hard on women. Happily women are also an essential part of the solution, not only because they make up half (48.1), but because women tend to be more green in their lifestyle choices and women in the workforce tend to more sustainable.

According to a large number of studies, women are greener than men in both their attitudes and their actions. One study shows that women have a greater stake in managing climate change as they are "more likely to lose their lives and otherwise fare worse than men in extreme events from heat waves to hurricanes and tsunamis." According to an international survey by Synovate, women are greener than men. A study published by France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economics shows that women emit less carbon than men. Men emit an average of 39.3 kilograms of carbon per day, women emit an average of 32.3 kilograms of carbon per day.

The inaugural It's Time 2015: The Partnership Summit to Elevate Women's Leadership, will take place the inaugural summit will take place May 1-3, 2015 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

It’s Time 2015 will feature Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. This cross-sector initiative brings women and men together to achieve gender equity and empower women and girls at all levels to be leaders. It is expected to draw up to 2,500 attendees representing a full spectrum of social and economic diversity, while satellite events occur simultaneously in partner cities across the U.S.

It’s Time Network is a diverse network of women and men working to evolve democracy and affirm the value of interdependence between all people and groups. Building connections between political leaders, grass roots activists, local communities, and national associations, ITN’s mission is to generate awareness around the importance of empowering women and girls and galvanize action across a range of issues including:

Women are on the front lines of climate change and environmental degradation and this is particularly true of indigenous women. Those who are socially and economically disadvantaged will be the hardest hit so this is an immense concern to indigenous women and the situation is even worse for such women living in developing countries. The climate-induced environmental threats they face include sea-level rise and shifts in the ranges of important species of food bearing plants.

Environmental insults are compounding the climate crisis. This is more than just a disruptive inconvenience for indigenous women, it is a direct threat to their physical, social and economic well being. For these women, many of whom live in a very close relationship with the natural world, climate change is an existential threat.

Women advocated for climate justice with a day of action on February 14th 2014. A group known as WECAN (Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network) took action for mother Earth and climate justice in collaboration with One Billion Rising for Justice. Leading up to and on February 14th WECAN's members documented women-led solutions, testimonies and successes in the field of environmental and climate justice throughout the world. Click here to see these actions.

Women are among the first to feel the impact of climate impacts. However, women are also at the forefront of efforts to find and implement sustainable solutions. Here are some of the female climate justice leaders assembled by the staff at 350.org for International Women’s Day.

- Melina Laboucan-Massimo: Climate & Energy Campaigner Greenpeace Alberta Tar Sands Campaign

“She’s an amazing leader from the frontlines of the tar sands and has worked tirelessly to connect the issue of missing & murdered indigenous women with climate justice.”

- Lidy Nacpil: Convener of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice and Asia coordinator of Jubilee South, vice president of the Freedom from Debt Coalition of the Philippines. She also serves on the board of 350.org and is the coordinator of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice.

Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland is widely regarded as the mother of sustainable development and she is a highly effective political and environmental activist. On January 18, 2016, Dr. Brundtland received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Zayed Future Energy Prize 2016 for her global leadership on sustainability. Dr. Brundtland is the first female recipient of this award.

On behalf of the UN Foundation, President and CEO Kathy Calvin congratulated Dr. Brundtland and highlighted the legacy of her work:

Video - Women Underrepresented on Boards of Directors

Women can bring a vast array of skills into business, this includes a greater awareness of the value of sustainability. Despite this fact women represent only 17 percent of the membership of Fortune 500 boards of directors. In this video professor Kellie McElhaney of the University of California Haas School of Business profiles the gender gap in the corporate board rooms and outlines specific barriers and best practices for addressing this situation.

To accelerate and provide the new thinking and creative power for a global post-carbon economy, Earth Day Network is engaging women business, government and NGO leaders in its “Women and the Green Economy” (WAGE®) Campaign. WAGE® is working today to create a policy agenda for Rio+20 and generate relevant national initiatives that will promote the green economy, secure educational and job training opportunities for women and channel green investment to benefit women.

A manual from the Department of Labor offers guidance to women interested in entering the green workforce. The guide is entitled, "Why Green Is Your Color: A Woman's Guide to a Sustainable Career." Currently green jobs are largely dominated by men but there are many opportunties for women. The guide is a comprehensive manual designed to assist women with job training and career development as they enter into innovative and nontraditional jobs.

As with every other aspect of the corporate world, men dominate the senior echelons of the CSR and sustainability movement. However there are a number of women who are showing that they not only are as good as men but they may even be better. The data shows that having an executive team that includes women offers better CSR performance.

Despite the ongoing inequality women are gaining momentum in the CSR and sustainability world. Here is Triple Pundit's list of 35 inspirational women that are leading the push for sustainable change.

1. Pamela Alabaster, SVP Corporate Communications, Sustainable Development & Public Affairs, L’Oreal USA.

Ecotech Institute, a pioneer college dedicated to renewable energy and sustainability, offers a great environment for women to train for careers in renwable energy. On February 16th, Ecotech held a Women in Renewable Energy meeting to bring together women at the campus to “share ideas, help each other with classwork and empower one another as they embark on a green career.”

Here are the recipients of the inaugural Women in Sustainability Leadership Award, presented by gb&d which describes itself as "the magazine for today’s leading green professional." It is the only magazine covering green building and design across industries.

The list starts off with the top ten most powerful women in sustainability followed by eleven additional women who warrant honorable mentions.

Angella Nazarian's new book, Pioneers of the Possible: Celebrating Visionary Women, includes profiles of two important environmentalists. Marina Silva, who ran for president of Brazil last year and is referred to as the Al Gore of Brazil. She's been working tirelessly to save the Amazon and was at the forefront of passing legislation for the environment. Illiterate and living in the Amazon jungle as a rubber tapper until age 16, she is also the winner of the prestigious Goldman prize.

Wangari Matthai of Kenya, the first environmentalist to win a Noble Prize. She founded the Green Belt Movement that has led to more than 13 million trees being planted in Africa. Her movement has spread to other African countries.