For Gloria Walton, President and CEO of The Solutions Project, driving climate impact is about a “sense of community” and—in a world that constantly divides—figuring out how to advance solutions through amplifying diverse stories and “building bridges.”
“People say that this is a feminist approach to leadership, because in our society, we’re told to be divided, to be competitive, to not collaborate. They say that female leadership is all about collaboration and looking out for each other, moving with a sense of love, understanding that we are interdependent,” Walton told TIME’s Chief Climate Officer Shyla Raghav, who moderated a conversation on climate impact with Walton and three other female climate leaders at TIME’s inaugural Women of the Year Leadership Forum.
The forum took place Tuesday in Los Angeles, and focused on how women are driving climate solutions in Los Angeles, in the corporate space, in local communities, and in the Global South. Raghav and Walton were joined on stage by fellow panelists Sophia Bush, actress, entrepreneur and activist; Nomzamo Mbatha, actress, humanitarian and Earthshot Prize Ambassador; and Kara Hurst, Chief Sustainability Officer at Amazon and a previous 2023 TIME100 Climate honoree.
When the devastating Los Angeles wildfires ravaged her former community in Altadena, Walton—a TIME 2023 Earth Award honoree—saw firsthand how communities came together and supported each other—and this support is needed. Those most impacted by climate change, she says, are often the “communities that are left out” of climate conversations.
Walton’s point on collaboration reminded Bush of when she first began working in climate impact spaces, attending conferences, and noticed she was “often the only woman in the room.” Now, she thinks about how she can bring other women with her into spaces with powerful people—places like the Time Women of the Year Leadership Forum.
“How do you begin to change that? Who do you demand to bring with you? Where do you refuse attendance?” Bush asked. “How do you ask questions, whether at the five people on a stage level or at global level…Whose opinions matter?”
Bush also acknowledged that she had previously criticized fellow panelist Hurst’s employer, Amazon, online, but recognized that the company is the largest green energy buyer. The only way to solve problems, though, Bush says, is to utilize storytelling and effective messaging to call out climate issues and “translate” them into messages that show the effect of climate change and climate policy is “deeply personal.”
Mbatha—who is South African and whose activism has spanned the globe—reminded the room that these conversations must include those in the Global South—and that there are women in Africa who are coming up with “incredible” climate solutions, but just need the funding to make it scalable. Mbatha spoke to her work in advocating for these innovators to have access to funding, and “convincing brands to put their money somewhere good.”
“There’s also a very big mistake that when we look at the African continent, there’s a ‘charitability’ element to it. There’s an economy there—very successful, very rich in investment, but also incredible potential as well,” Mbatha said. “I believe in throwing out the net and saying ‘these are the ways that you can be able to partner with local communities.”
Hurst says that partnering “on the ground” with local communities in “increasingly sustainable ways” is how she tries to operate at Amazon—both by responding to climate disasters like the Los Angeles wildfires with disaster relief initiatives, and in helping communities prepare for disaster, pointing to supplies and kits Amazon has ready for climate disasters whenever they may hit—filled with masks and air filters.
But in order to help prepare, she says companies need to listen to the communities they are working in: “The community always knows best. They always know what their needs are, and the first thing we need to do is listen deeply to that,” Hurst said.
The panel ended with a question about hope—how to keep it alive at such a tumultuous time in climate and in politics. Hurst points to the amount of progress that has been made in the climate sphere, and that these milestones must be celebrated, even as we hold each other accountable in creating climate solutions.
“Do not let perfection be the enemy of progress,” she said. “We’ve never decarbonized the global economy before; we’re going to make mistakes…We need to hold each other to account. We need to seek out women who have the solutions.”
The Women of the Year Leadership Forum was presented by Amazon, Booking.com, Chase, Deloitte, the American Heart Association, and Toyota.
