Heat and Hurdles: Unpacking the Impact of Climate Risks on Women's Empowerment

Climate change poses complex risks that extend beyond environmental impacts, shaping social and economic inequalities. This paper examines how physical risks, such as extreme weather, and transition risks, linked to decarbonization and green policies, affect women's empowerment in firms across developing and developed contexts. Using firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys and World Development Indicators, we measure empowerment through female employment, management, and ownership. Our results reveal contrasting effects: physical risks reduce female ownership, while transition risks boost female management, particularly in smaller, younger, non-exporting, and non-privately owned firms. The negative impact of physical risks is largely uniform, except in foreign-owned firms, and operates mainly through constraints on finance and land. These findings highlight the need for integrated climate and gender policies that recognize women not only as vulnerable to climate change but also as key agents of sustainable economic transformation.