As Women’s History Month comes to a close, I felt a tug to amplify the voices of the women that make up Turtle Island Restoration Network’s staff – and share what being a woman in the climate movement truly means to each of us.
Some of us spent decades on the frontlines fighting Big Oil. Some of us lived far from the ocean but embody a deep and undeniable pull to protect it. Some of us worked in hands-on rehabilitation centers for sick and injured wildlife, while others have pursued higher education to better understand – and challenge – the systems that put our blue-green planet at risk. No matter how we found our way to this work, or how we use our skills to protect what we love, we all share a common approach: connection.
As stated in an article by the World Economic Forum, Why women must be centered in climate action, “climate change is not gender-neutral. Its impacts are profoundly shaped by pre-existing social structures, disproportionately affecting women and exacerbating gender inequalities due to differences in social roles, resource access and power dynamics.”
In the fights ahead to protect our blue-green planet, we will continue to center our core belief in connection – connection to one another, to those who see the world differently, to the teachings of Indigenous communities who honor the interconnectedness of all life, and to the voiceless beings who depend on us to speak and act on their behalf.
