Perceptions of Climate Change from a Gender Perspective in Jalisco, Mexico

The rural population of coastal areas is highly vulnerable to disaster risks related to hydrometeorological hazards, which are increasing as an effect of climate change. To reduce vulnerabilities in a sustainable and equitable way, it is essential to understand the local perceptions and to make visible the gender differences in the approach to certain risks. The objective of this article is to analyze gender-differentiated perceptions of climate change, with emphasis on its local expression, represented by the increase in hurricanes, in two rural communities in the South Coast region of Jalisco, in Mexico. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women and men affected by hurricanes Jova and Patricia. The analysis shows gender-differentiated perceptions about the causes of hurricanes and future risks, which reveal the existence of differential vulnerabilities. However, both men and women comprehensively perceive climate change as a disruption in physical, moral, social and political terms. In this way, the enunciation of risks in the research process in rural areas and the analysis of perceptions with a gender perspective generate spaces for transdisciplinary dialogue, that make visible the articulations between the climate-environmental issue, inequities and socio-political crises.