It has become a tired-if-true assertion that climate change is a threat multiplier for gender inequalities. Yet, most of the data relied on in such assertions comes from evidence from parts of Africa and Asia, with little direct evidence from Australia itself. This represents a major data gap, feeding into gaps in policy and practice across all levels of government in Australia. As such, this research draws on a major new 1000-person study representative of the voting population in Australia to understand gendered climate impacts and expectations of Australians on policymaking domains. We ask: What do Australians perceive to be and experience as the most significant gender differences in climate impacts in Australia? What expectations do Australians hold – of government, the private sector, and the community – when it comes to addressing gender and climate change? We conduct spatial autocorrelation analysis of the gender-disaggregated survey data (collected at the postcode level) against geographic and demographic data at the Local Government Area level. In doing so, we examine the gendered differences of climate impacts on health, insurance, cost of living, jobs, housing, relationships, and more. Geographic and demographic data includes, but is not limited to, workforce participation by industry, bushfire risk, proximity to flood plains and First Nations Colonial Frontier Massacres. This analysis demonstrates nuances to global-level literature on climate impacts. Cross-referenced against priority areas identified by the National Climate Risk Assessment, Productivity Commission’s Net Zero Report, Nationally Determined Contributions, Belem Gender Action Plan and 64th sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB64), we provide urgent empirical evidence to begin to address substantive gender data gaps in Australia and provide insights for policy domestically and in Australia’s foreign policy.
