This March 8, International Women’s Day, the United Nations uses the slogan “Rights, justice and action by and for all women and girls” to demand their full participation in all social spheres. This demand responds to a critical legal reality, since, worldwide, women hold only 64% of the rights recognized to men and, at the current rate, it is estimated that full equality in legal protection will not be achieved for another 286 years.
This demand for action and justice also affects the environmental sphere. The monographic gender report of the Just Transition Observatory (OTJ), based on the Survey on the Social Perception of the Ecological Transition, ratifies the greater climate sensitivity of women. 84% say that climate change is an undeniable reality, compared to 77% of men, a difference that shoots up to 12 points in young people. This conviction is transferred to daily action, according to the Women in the Ecological Transition 2025 report by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO). The study highlights that women prioritize environmental impact in their purchases and show greater support for public policies and environmental awareness campaigns.
THE LEGACY OF COP30: THE BELÉM PLAN
COP30 in Belém marked a milestone with the adoption of the Gender Action Plan, an agreement that outlines the roadmap for the next nine years. This document places equality as a key part of the climate agenda and introduces crucial measures in terms of eradicating violence, protecting women environmental defenders and socially just transitions. It also recognizes the intersectional factors that shape the reality of women with disabilities, indigenous people and women from rural communities. The plan acts as an indispensable framework for removing structural barriers, ensuring tangible results and ensuring the implementation of gender-integrated climate action.
Along these lines, Spain reaffirms its adherence to Equal by 30, a global alliance that pursues equal pay, leadership and opportunities in the clean energy sector. In addition, Spain signed the Gender Declaration to guarantee parity procedures during the Belém meeting. This commitment was transferred to the Spanish delegation present at the COP, made up of more than 50% women, and to the Spanish Pavilion itself, which hosted an event dedicated to gender in the ecological transition agenda and met the objective of promoting equity, reaching more than 54% female participation in the different panels.
GREEN EMPLOYMENT: ECONOMIC CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
The ecological transition is one of the main drivers of employment of the decade, although access to these opportunities is not equal for everyone. The Women in the Ecological Transition 2025 report confirms that women accounted for only 14.2% of occupations in green activities during 2023. The study warns of extreme masculinisation in strategic areas, as the male presence is close to 96% in the maritime sector. This gap persists in sustainable construction, where women account for just 8.1% of the workforce, while sustainable transport and the circular economy register female employment figures of 19.2% and 15.3% respectively.
In this context, the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) reinforces equality as a cross-cutting axis of its work. The entity argues that guaranteeing women’s access to decision-making represents the only way to achieve effective, resilient and socially just biodiversity management.
To materialise this commitment, the Foundation promotes initiatives such as the Empleaverde+ Programme and the Emprendeverde Network. These instruments provide training, mentoring and specific resources for women entrepreneurs to lead different projects. The ultimate goal is to close the representation gap and consolidate the role of women as an indispensable driver of the green economy.
The Foundation works to enable women from all backgrounds to act as agents of change. Together with the systematic application of the Guide for the inclusion of the gender perspective in the projects it supports, the entity promotes new forums that facilitate the exchange of experiences and ensure equity in the management of natural heritage.
This commemoration underlines that the climate crisis requires inclusive responses to ensure its effectiveness. Solving the greatest challenge of our time requires the talent, vision and experience of the entire population. Strong climate governance therefore requires mitigation, adaptation and financing policies to integrate the female perspective as a decision-maker. Closing the gender gap is, in short, the only way to build a society capable of responding to the planetary emergency with true justice and sustainability.
