Promoting gender-inclusivity and climate resilience in Bangladesh

Infrastructure serves as the backbone of our social economy by supplying social services like healthcare and education delivered by schools and hospitals and essential services like power, transportation, water and sanitation, ICT, and waste management. It supports 92 per cent of the 169 targets in all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr. Nadine Puechguirbal, a former senior gender consultant for the UN, claims no gender-neutral infrastructure exists. "Access to essential infrastructure services, like safe public transportation, clean water, and sanitation, continues disproportionately affecting women and girls worldwide."

When developing gender-inclusive infrastructure, it's vital to consider intersectionality in communities. This approach significantly enhances gender inclusion and provides invaluable benefits for city growth and climate resilience.

Implementing gender-inclusive, climate-resilient infrastructure in Bangladesh is pivotal to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Empowering women (SDG 5) is essential for building sustainable cities (SDG 11), as it promotes inclusive urban planning and decision-making processes that benefit the entire community. Creating sustainable cities (SDG 11) involves incorporating climate-resilient infrastructure and supporting climate action initiatives (SDG 13).

Encouraging sustainable industrial practices (SDG 9) reduces environmental pollution and contributes to climate action efforts (SDG 13). Addressing gender inequalities (SDG 5) is essential for effective climate action (SDG 13) because women are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and play critical roles in climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Quality infrastructure → Inclusive and sustainable infrastructure
When creating climate-resilient infrastructure, it is essential to include gender impact assessment in the risk and vulnerability assessment. Recent infrastructure programs can improve access to services, transportation, the Internet, job opportunities, and public spaces, leading to more inclusive cities.

Despite the progress in several areas of the geospatial industry, women continue to be underrepresented. However, their consistent efforts have broken down boundaries and transformed the geospatial technology environment, from pioneering cartographers to innovative Geographic Information System (GIS) analysts. The integration of geospatial technologies (GIS, Remote Sensing (RS)) is crucial in enhancing infrastructure resilience in climate-vulnerable areas such as Bangladesh. These tools enable effective monitoring and management of natural resources, facilitating data-driven decisions for the optimal placement and design of infrastructure. For instance, planners can use RS and GIS to identify and mitigate the risk of erosion and flooding.

Key concerns are measured and examined more efficiently as GIS helps express spatial trends, such as women living near the road working longer days and men near the road partaking more in normally female duties like fetching drinking water.

A gender-responsive budget (GRB) creates a resilient, gender-inclusive infrastructure. It ensures the involvement of women and other disadvantaged groups in project planning. This inclusive infrastructure benefits city development and climate and impacts gender inclusion. In FY2021–22, 34.0% was spent on women, up from 39.6% in the original budget for FY2022–23. In FY2023–24, gender-related budgeting declined marginally to 38.6% of the total budget allocation.

Resource Management and Sustainability in Infrastructure Development
Incorporating sustainable resource management practices into infrastructure development is crucial for long-term resilience, especially in regions like Bangladesh facing significant climate change stress. Careful management of water, land, and energy resources ensures sustainable infrastructure projects that positively impact the environment and society. The budget increased from FY 2009–10 to 2023–24 by 3.95% to 5.23% as a percentage of GDP and by 24.65% to 34.37% as a percentage of the National Budget during the same fiscal year. The "Recurrent, Capital, Gender and Poverty (RCGP)" model, created by the Finance Division, determines the proportion of gender allocation in operational expenditures as of FY 2009–2010.

Why design gender-inclusive climate-resilient infrastructure in Bangladesh?

In climate-related efforts such as building climate-resilient infrastructure, it is crucial to include gender impact assessment in risk and vulnerability assessment. Policymakers and urban planners can create more livable cities for all by adopting gender-specific methods for urban infrastructure design and investment. In Bangladesh, the integration of gender into climate change adaptation is particularly important. This is due to cultural dynamics that discourage women's participation, making it a key area for improvement.

Insufficient infrastructure impacts women in climate change. For example, rising sea levels in Bangladesh have led to saltwater intrusion, affecting freshwater quality and women's livelihoods. Gender-blind institutional culture hinders gender equality in climate change and leads to biased institutions and limited opportunities for women.

In climate-vulnerable regions like Bangladesh, geospatial technologies can help manage water resources to prevent issues such as saltwater intrusion and ensure safe water access, especially for women. Gender-inclusive climate resilience infrastructure addresses various needs and vulnerabilities, provides access, promotes economic empowerment, and achieves sustainability.

The need for gender-responsive infrastructure in Bangladesh is paramount. It is designed to cater to the different transportation needs of men and women, ensuring safe and accessible transport for women to access economic, medical, and educational opportunities. This includes factors such as well-lit areas, security measures, and access to sanitation and clean water. Recognizing women as active participants in programs and policies and transforming gender dynamics in all aspects of their lives are key components of gender-responsive approaches.

Cyclones and floods brought on by climate change usually inflict more pain on women in Bangladesh than on men. Bangladeshi women can take the initiative and join community-led projects to identify climate hazards and offer infrastructural solutions, such as conventional designs for flood-resistant homes. They can also assist in the construction and upkeep of embankments and flood shelters, for example, in areas that are vulnerable to flooding.

Climate-resilient water management systems, like rainwater gathering structures or effective irrigation techniques, can be developed and implemented by women in Bangladesh's rural areas because they know traditional water harvesting and irrigation practices, such as sustainable farming practices and a variety of crop choices.

• By 2030, everyone, including women, must have access to safe mobility and cheap, accessible, and sustainable transportation systems to meet SDG 2030 Goals 5, 9, 11, and 13.
• Projects that include both men and women should correctly use the allotted GRB.
• Reducing gender-based inequities in disaster adaptation and mitigation through the implementation of specific policies and initiatives.
• A city that listens to its residents’ opinions and considers their suggestions will lay a solid foundation for inclusivity.
• Actively interacting with the community, creating discussion forums, and implementing inclusive policies are crucial for creating an inclusive workplace that considers the equal needs of every person, regardless of their age, gender, ability, or background.
• Making workplaces across all industries more gender inclusive.
• Advocating for gender-inclusive urban planning is crucial to enhancing women’s participation in economic development areas, thereby fostering equality, and driving economic growth.
• Engaging women more in climate-resilient infrastructure-building decisions.
• Empowering woman and introduce new technology for adaption on climate related changes.

*Dr. Soma Dhar is a research economist (Bangladesh), Dr. Sanju Purohit is an associate professor (Akamai University, USA) and Mosabber Hossain, senior reporter (Bangladesh)