New York Women’s Foundation maps climate justice gaps in NYC

The New York Women’s Foundation has released a new report on how climate change hits women and gender-expansive people of color hardest in New York City. The analysis argues that climate policy and funding miss the workers and neighborhoods most exposed to harm, while community-led groups are already driving resilience. Why it matters: - The report argues that climate justice in New York City cannot be separated from gender and racial equity. - It says climate-vulnerable workers and marginalized neighborhoods are often missing from the data systems that guide policy and funding. - The findings point to a need for climate plans that reflect lived experience, local expertise and community-led solutions. What happened: - The New York Women’s Foundation launched The Invisible Womxn: Creating a Climate-Resilient New York City that Centers Gender Equity on June 15, 2026. - The Foundation commissioned the report in 2025. - Urban sociologist Tiasia Obrien-Shah wrote the analysis. - The report draws on field visits, focus groups and interviews with a gender- and racially inclusive cohort across New York City. - The Foundation marked the launch with an expert panel on climate justice, gender equity and representative data. The details: - The report examines how the climate crisis disproportionately affects women and gender-expansive people of color in New York City. - It identifies community-led organizations in Environmental Justice neighborhoods as a critical force for climate resilience. - The panel included Tiasia Obrien-Shah, Allyson Martinez of Brooklyn Level Up, and Elizabeth Yeampierre of UPROSE and the Climate Justice Alliance. - Cecilia Cortes Vila, Associate Director of Programs at The New York Women’s Foundation, moderated the discussion on community-led climate solutions. - The Foundation said the conversation reinforced the report’s central message: the people most affected by the climate crisis must help shape the response. - Camille A. Emeagwali, Senior Vice President of Programs & Strategic Learning, said environmental justice is essential to the Foundation’s broader strategy because climate change, pollution and resource depletion are economic realities that hit marginalized communities hardest. - The Invisible Womxn is intended as a landscape analysis of New York City’s climate justice ecosystem. - The report surfaces community knowledge, identifies gaps in data and policy systems, and lays groundwork for future action. - The full report is available here . Between the lines: - The report’s core argument is that traditional climate planning can miss the people most exposed to harm when it relies on incomplete or non-representative data. - By centering community testimony and neighborhood-level expertise, the analysis pushes climate policy toward more targeted and equitable interventions. - The Foundation is also positioning environmental justice as part of its long-running economic justice agenda, not as a separate issue. What’s next: - The report is meant to inform future climate action in New York City. - Community groups and advocates can use the findings to push for stronger representation in climate funding, policy design and resilience planning. - The Foundation is likely to continue building on the report through advocacy, convenings and partner-driven solutions. The bottom line: - The new analysis says New York City’s climate response will fall short unless women and gender-expansive people of color are centered in the data, the funding and the decisions that shape resilience.