Climate Perception and Adaptation Strategies of Women Smallholder Farmers in the Global South Rural Communities: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This paper presents a systematic review of gendered climate change perceptions and adaptation strategies among women smallholder farmers in the Global South, complemented by expert interviews. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, it synthesises evidence from 30 empirical studies published since 2019 to examine climate perceptions, adaptation behaviours, dominant narratives, and key research gaps. Eight expert interviews further enrich the analysis, particularly addressing the relative underrepresentation of Southeast Asia and Latin America in existing scholarship. Although awareness of climate change is widespread among both men and women, perceived impacts and vulnerabilities are strongly gender-differentiated, shaped by socially constructed roles, responsibilities, and structural inequalities. Women farmers employ a range of absorptive, adaptive, and transformative strategies, including on-farm adjustments, livelihood diversification, and collective action. These responses are further differentiated by intra-gender factors such as age, marital status, and socio-economic position, underscoring the importance of context-specific approaches. The review identifies a geographical imbalance in the literature, with a predominant focus on Africa, and highlights contrasting narratives that frame women either as vulnerable victims or as active agents of change. It calls for more nuanced, agency-centred and gender-transformative research and policy design that recognise women’s knowledge, lived experiences, and critical contributions to climate resilience.