“Some people say that the climate crisis is something we have all created. But that is just another convenient lie. Because if everyone is guilty, then no one is to blame.”

—Greta Thunberg 

It is hard not to notice that most of the world’s authentic movers and shakers are women. For the last ten years I have been asking myself and other people why this is. Surely it is not only because women are increasingly better educated than men. True, they make up the greater percentage of university graduates. But look at who’s attending protests for the rights of Nature or human rights. Visit classes that focus on the climate and ecological crises, and you’ll see that 75% or more of the participants are women. Why have men marginalized themselves to such a degree as to be almost irrelevant to social justice movements that include community participation? Certainly the chief aspiration of men is not to be a trillionaire or a half-baked authoritarian. This is extremely dangerous for an increasingly fragile democratic society. This article zooms in on how women have reinvented partnership societies and are leaving patriarchal type people bewildered. It wasn’t always like this. Read on. 

One of the most important books of the 20th century was The Chalice and the Blade, written by Riane Eisler in 1987. Its focus on Minoan civilization, which flourished in Crete from about 3000 BCE to about 1100 BCE, brings to the forefront what can be achieved by a society that cherishes the contributions of women. Over a thousand years of peace prevailed there. Eisler writes: “But with all of this, the many images of the Goddess in her dual aspect of life and death seem to express a view of the world in which the primary purpose of art, and of life, was not to conquer, pillage, and loot but to cultivate the earth and provide the material and spiritual wherewithal for a satisfying life… Contrary to the prevailing view of power symbolized by the Blade—the power to take away or to dominate—a very different view of power seems to have been the norm in these Neolithic Goddess-worshipping societies.” Listen to an exploration of the book at https://tinyurl.com/chalice-blade

It should not come as a surprise, then, that after the destruction by male invaders of Crete more than 2000 years ago the Goddess’s followers would rise again to begin transforming present dominator societies. Through the last 60+ years women such as Rachel Carson and Jane Goodall have persevered in protecting Nature as well as human society from undemocratic and rapacious behaviour. They have been at the forefront of standing up to male dominance that would otherwise have destroyed the ecological fabric of many societies. It has become apparent that women have overwhelmingly become the leaders to protect local and regional communities from grotesque ecological and social inequities. 

Women like scientist Rachel Carson had to overcome enormous prejudice from the male dominated chemical industry in the 1960s, which launched campaigns against her solid scientific research identifying the chemical DDT as the cause of devastating wildlife destruction; they also attacked her personally as part of their disinformation tactics. This is a template that all androcentric or patriarchal governments follow, and it is ultimately at the centre of fascist ideology. Androcracy always must dominate and undermine women’s aspirations. A gynocentric civilization is a partnership society in which women’s voices are distinctly heard. 

In the 1970s the women in India’s Himalayan region decided to protect their trees. It had become obvious that deforestation was the cause of huge flooding in their villages. They became the first world-renowned tree huggers, standing around trees in resolute defiance and reverence. They called themselves the Chipko Movement. The Hindi word chipko translates as “to hug.” As a result of the women’s efforts, the level of deforestation drastically diminished.

Although the Chipko movement began as a hugging-of-trees protest, its principles continue to inspire and guide contemporary efforts to protect the environment, uphold marginalised communities’ rights, and grow new ecological movements both in India and across the rest of the world. 
https://tinyurl.com/chipko-legacy 

Beginning in the 1980s, Indian campaigner Medha Patkar has been a central organizer and strategist for Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), a people’s movement organized to stop the construction of a series of dams planned for India’s largest westward-flowing river, the Narmada. She and her fellow villagers have been able to highlight the destruction that these dams would cause with the obliteration of centuries-old communities, as well as the ecological devastation. Medha and her supporters demanded that villagers be consulted and respected before major infrastructure be built. She almost died on one of her food fasting protests, but ultimately most of the dams were not built. 

The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Wangari Maathai of Kenya is best remembered for her advocacy whereby 51 million trees have been planted and 30,000 women have been trained in forestry, food processing and beekeeping. The Kenyan Green Belt Movement grassroots organization has given agency and self-respect to thousands of women. Her story in overcoming male-dominated intransigence is astonishing. Like so many campaigners for social and planetary justice, including those mentioned above, she was threatened with death, and she was imprisoned by corrupt officials. 

When I learned that the prestigious 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize, which is the equivalent of a Nobel Prize for Nature, had been awarded to six women but no men, I was not surprised. The rapid ascendancy of women climate, community and biodiversity activists in the 21st century naturally comes as the legacy of the courage and determination of their earlier sisters. Human rights and rights of Nature are embedded in their work. These six women, from all corners of the globe, have been instrumental in bringing local communities together to block huge corporations and willing governments from exploiting vulnerable populations, including Indigenous ones, in order to extract fossil fuels and decimate forests, rivers and the ocean. Climate action, by galvanizing communities to go to court to push back against ill-conceived ventures, has successfully halted many of these schemes. https://tinyurl.com/goldman-women

An article on the UN Women website squarely puts the plight of women and girls in perspective with regard to climate breakdown. Titled “How gender inequality and climate change are interconnected,” it makes no excuses for governments not to immediately act on blatant human rights violations. https://tinyurl.com/un-women-climate

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani female education activist, and a producer of film and television. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, receiving the Peace Prize in 2014 at the age of 17. Surviving an assassination attempt in her campaign for girls’ education, she has become an inspiration for girls and women.

Greta Thunberg, who inspired the global movement Fridays for Future, has turned the climate narrative upside down. From the age of 15 she has had a huge influence, particularly on young people, in bringing to the forefront the dangers of global warming. She has uncompromisingly and with enormous courage laid bare the hypocrisy of world governments and corporations who have been happy to greenwash their activities.

In her forthrightness Greta is by no means alone, though. In September 2025 Amnesty International shone a spotlight on five young women who are speaking out and acting on what governments often neglect to do: protect citizens from catastrophic climate disruption. One of these young women, Autumn Peltier, is a 14-year-old Canadian Indigenous activist known for her clean-water advocacy. An Anishinaabe member of the Wikwemikong First Nation, she is campaigning for better water quality in First Nations communities, and at the age of 8 she addressed the UN with clarity and great conviction. Just this week on June 16 the Canadian government announced a huge investment in water purification for First Nations communities. https://tinyurl.com/amnesty-young-women

Elizabeth May is well known to Canadians for her unflagging energy as a climate activist. Even before she was elected as a Green MP she was a beacon for sound climate and ecological solutions in Canada.

Francine Lemay is a biodynamic farmer living close to Sherbrooke. Her 204-acre farm is aptly named La Généreuse. There you will find great ecological integrity and a deep commitment to the arts and children’s education. She is a true mentor and leader for the Cookshire-Eaton area and beyond. 

Here Francine introduces us to her lifelong passion for childhood education and ecological work:

“Driven by deep feelings of love and respect, I have been active for Nature my whole life.For more than 40 years, no pesticides or artificial fertilizers have been used on my fruit and vegetable fields. I have been active in setting up associations and organisations that promote organic agriculture through certification.

“A teacher by training, I have established a school, Les Enfants de la Terre, on my farm, as well as encouraging creativity through Mission Art et Nature. Both seek to connect young people with the living Earth. For 10 years I have been part of a collaboration at Rurart, whose mission is to support artists in their exploration of their relationship with the Earth and with beauty.” https://www.lagenereuse.com

These are just a few examples of how women’s courage and cooperation throughout the ages are continuing to inspire action and bring about change in ways that challenge the divisive and deeply damaging attitudes of the patriarchy.