Global Crisis Forced Women Into Financial Hardship in 2025
A new CARE report details how compounding crises pushed millions of women to liquidate assets and cut food intake.
Updated on Oct. 6, 2026 in Women’s Issues
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The 2025 CARE Women Respond report revealed that climate shocks, food insecurity, and conflict severely undermined women's income and stability globally. Many participants increasingly relied on personal savings and loans to cover basic needs rather than business investments.
Why it matters
Compounding pressures such as drought, conflict, and reductions in global aid have forced many women to sacrifice long-term financial health for immediate survival. These trends highlight the vulnerability of household income systems when confronted with persistent environmental and economic instability.
In Niger, the percentage of women consuming three meals a day dropped from 63% to 1%, while in Colombia, the rate of women selling assets for survival rose from 7% in 2023 to 27% by late 2025.
The players
CARE
This international humanitarian organization works to fight global poverty and social injustice with a specific focus on empowering women.
The details
Women are managing these extreme conditions by significantly reducing food portion sizes and eating less frequently. Financial resilience has been further strained as participants utilize self-managed savings groups to fund essential expenses, hindering their ability to reinvest in income-generating activities.
Timeline
CARE launched the Women Respond initiative in 2020.
Data for the report was collected during 2025.
Assets sold by Colombian women rose to 27% by late 2025.
Strong El Niño weather patterns are expected in 2026.
Culture Shift
This data highlights a retreat from traditional small-scale business investment as households shift toward survival-based economies. This mirrors a broader trend where systemic climate and economic shocks erode the progress made by micro-finance and community savings initiatives.
Readers may see local initiatives shifting focus toward direct food assistance and emergency liquidity as traditional savings groups reach capacity. These changes necessitate a reevaluation of household budgets as global supply and weather patterns continue to influence food availability.
The takeaway
The sharp decline in food security and earnings suggests that current household savings models face significant threats from climate-driven crises. Diversifying resources and supporting community-based aid structures remain critical for maintaining basic living standards in affected regions.
Further reading
Read more about how economic shifts are impacting global demographics in our Women’s Issues section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Empower Stories | Build Authority - Drive Impact | Amplify | Influence | Lead | Inspire.
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