As climate change intensifies, bringing more frequent and devastating disasters, one crucial perspective remains underreported: the disproportionate burden placed on women, particularly mothers. Whether facing wildfires, hurricanes, floods, or extreme heat, women are often the ones scrambling to protect their families while simultaneously absorbing the emotional and logistical weight of the crisis. The aftermath leaves them with little time to recover, forcing them into a cycle of resilience that comes at a cost to their well-being.
For many mothers, climate disasters are not just a temporary emergency but a complete upheaval of their daily lives. The stress of ensuring their children’s safety, maintaining a semblance of normalcy, and navigating the bureaucratic nightmare of recovery all fall disproportionately on their shoulders. Melissa Saleh, a lawyer and journalist turned entrepreneur, witnessed this firsthand when she evacuated with her children due to wildfires.
“I was alone with the kids earlier this week, my husband was traveling, so when things were very touch and go with evacuations, I packed up the kids and headed south to a hotel. It was filled with families who’d evac-ed. I locked eyes with many mothers herding their kids around, desperately trying to maintain normalcy for their kids while their entire community and their homes burned,” she says.
What Saleh describes is an experience many mothers endure but one that is rarely acknowledged on a national scale. The emotional and physical toll extends beyond the immediate crisis. In the wake of disasters, mothers are often left to manage school closures, the loss of housing, disruptions to work schedules, and the mental health fallout for their children—all while trying to process their own trauma. Saleh puts it succinctly:
“Nationally, we are not talking about the additional workload – and the additional trauma – of motherhood in these situations. The added burden is ENORMOUS – you barely have time to look after your own life and needs as you use every ounce of strength to try to keep your kids and family safe and intact – physically, mentally and emotionally. There’s the trauma of the event, then the after-trauma – school, homes, routines and plans for childcare all destroyed.”
Climate disasters exacerbate the already unbalanced expectations placed on women in caregiving roles. Studies show that women perform the majority of unpaid domestic labor, and in times of crisis, this burden only intensifies. Globally, women perform 76.2% of total hours of unpaid care work, more than three times as much as men. This care is exacerbated by natural disasters and displacement. After Hurricane Katrina, that mothers, especially single mothers, that were displaced by the storm reported increased caregiving responsibilities with limited support
Without adequate support systems, mothers are left to navigate the chaos alone, making critical decisions under pressure with little guidance or assistance.
Consequences of Disaster and Displacement
The long-term consequences of this added stress are significant. Research links chronic stress from disasters to increased rates of anxiety, depression, and physical health issues among women, particularly those in lower-income communities who have fewer resources to rebuild. The economic burden is another factor—mothers who are forced to leave jobs due to childcare disruptions or displacement may struggle to regain financial stability. Women in disaster-affected areas are more likely to lose jobs permanently. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of women left the labor force entirely. Women’s labor force participation rate hit a low during the years of the pandemic last seen in 1988, losing an entire generation of gains.
Despite these challenges, climate policies and disaster relief efforts rarely take gender disparities into account. Emergency response frameworks often fail to address the specific needs of women, from access to childcare and maternal healthcare to economic assistance for those who are primary caregivers. In many cases, shelters and aid organizations are unprepared for the influx of displaced mothers and children, leading to overcrowding, lack of privacy, and inadequate resources.
As climate change accelerates, the reality is clear: women and mothers will continue to bear an outsized burden unless systemic changes are made. Recognizing the invisible labor they perform during disasters is a critical first step in creating a more equitable response. Without this recognition, mothers like Melissa Saleh will continue to face these crises alone, carrying the weight of survival not just for themselves, but for their families and communities.
