The Women POWER project responds to a growing crisis where gender inequality and climate change overlap in Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS). Countries such as Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Tuvalu, and the Solomon Islands are already feeling the effects of climate change. Rising sea levels, stronger storms, and environmental damage are increasing poverty, destroying livelihoods, and putting lives and cultures at risk. These impacts fall hardest on women and girls, who already face long-standing social and economic disadvantages.

Pacific women play a vital role in daily life. They help provide food, care for families, protect cultural traditions, and support their communities. Yet many women have limited access to land, housing, natural resources, money, climate-resilient tools, and leadership opportunities. Women also carry most unpaid work, such as caring for children, elders, and communities—up to 80% in some areas. This workload grows even heavier after climate disasters, when families and communities need more care and support.

At the same time, women have very little say in decisions that affect their lives. The Pacific region has the lowest level of women’s representation in national parliaments in the world. Policies and institutions often fail to include women or respond to their needs, leaving them out of planning and decision-making on climate solutions. This happens even though women have deep local knowledge and practical skills that are essential for building strong, climate-resilient communities.

When these inequalities are ignored, everyone is affected. Communities become more vulnerable, and climate solutions are less effective. Climate actions that do not include women’s voices and leadership risk making existing inequalities worse. For communities to adapt and thrive in a changing climate, women must be part of the solution. Simply put, climate justice cannot be achieved without gender justice.