Gendered experiences of adaptation to drought: Patterns of change in El Sauce, Nicaragua

This paper investigates the gender dimensions and divisions in Nicaragua that result in gender-differentiated capacities to respond to climate change, with men being able to adapt and women experiencing a downward spiral in capacity and increasing vulnerability to drought.

The changes men and women in a rural community in Nicaragua say they have implemented over the past decades differ in ways that relate to their vulnerability to drought. Short-term coping was more common among the women, especially the female heads of households, while adaptive actions were more common among the men. The Community Capitals Framework offers a tool to understand the differences. A gendered culture meant that the division of other types of capital (natural, human, social, financial, built, cultural, and political) as well as the division of labor in the case study area were also highly gendered.