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What is "Just Transition"?
Brief/Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations
Dec 2017

Green Initiative Policy Brief: Gender, Labor, and a Just Transition towards Environmentally Sustainable Economic and Societies for All

This brief summarizes climate-related challenges to gender equality in the world of work and emphasizes the need to achieve greater gender equality through transitions to a low-carbon, sustainable economy.This brief summarizes climate-related challenges to gender equality in the world of work and emphasizes the need to achieve greater gender equality through transitions to a low-carbon, sustainable economy.

Geographic Scope
Global
Sectors
General
Detail
Focus Areas
Employment > Job creation and/or equality, Social protections, Worker safety
Inequality and/or poverty > Gender inequality
Social and/or cultural impacts > Other
Keywords
informal economy
disproportionate climate impacts
agriculture
care work
Publishing Organization
International Labor Organization (ILO)
Inter-governmental/international organization, Labor organization
Summary

This brief provides a high-level summary of the challenges that women in the world of work face as a result of climate change, both now and within the framework of worsening, future climate impacts. It also warns against the negative effects of excluding or overlooking the needs of women when enacting climate mitigation and adaptation measures.

The authors explore these challenges in the context of formal labor, informal agricultural labor, and unpaid household and care work. They suggest that the transition to low-carbon and sustainable economies offers an opportunity to address existing and emerging inequalities and vulnerabilities, secure and protect fundamental workplace rights, and empower women by ensuring their essential contribution to the stimulation of green growth.

To achieve these goals, the authors encourage greater engagement on the issues of gender, labor, and climate change. Furthermore, they encourage policymakers to include specific goals in transition planning regarding equal opportunities for and treatment of women and men.

Brief/Guidelines, Strategies and Recommendations
Nov 2019

Persons with Disabilities in a Just Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy

This policy brief examines the impacts of climate change on people with disabilities and provides a brief list of policy recommendations to ensure an inclusive transition.

Geographic Scope
Global
Sectors
General
Detail
Focus Areas
Employment > Job creation and/or equality, Skills, Social protections
Inequality and/or poverty > Other
Social and/or cultural impacts > Other
Keywords
disability-inclusive
disproportionate climate impacts
discrimination
legal standards
By
Maria Hasan
Publishing Organization
International Labor Organization (ILO)
Inter-governmental/international organization, Labor organization
Summary

This brief examines the impacts of climate change on the world of work and discusses how a just transition to a low-carbon economy must consider persons with disabilities. It further describes various types of workplace discrimination and injustices against persons with disabilities and makes recommendations for a just and equitable transition in which they are included.

The paper stresses that persons with disabilities are disproportionately affected by climate change yet are often excluded from climate policies’ societal planning and decision-making processes. The paper also discusses the disproportionately low representation of persons with disabilities in the global labor market and suggests that a just transition could expand the opportunities for decent work available to them.

The authors refer to existing international frameworks that provide a can help guide disability-inclusive transitions and highlight key public policy needs, including legal standards, social protection mechanisms, skill-development initiatives, and attitudinal changes. They conclude with a list of recommendations for specific stakeholders, including governments, businesses, trade unions, and development agencies, among others.