Creative Leadership Observatory: The Harsh Realities We Can’t Ignore

Hello readers, this is blog post 6 on the Creative Leadership Observatory! This week, we recently read an article titled "CLIMATE JUSTICE: Disruptors and Protectors of Our Earth – Young Women and Girls of the Global Majority Leading Climate Justice" by Yasmina Benslimane, and I can't say it left me feeling inspired. Instead, I walked away with a sense of frustration, disillusionment, and a deep pessimism that I think more people should acknowledge. Full disclosure, there may be some unpopular opinions ahead…

The article repeats, over and over, the familiar refrain that women are often overlooked in climate conversations. This point is important, yes. But when a piece continually repeats this without diving deeper into solutions or offering fresh perspectives, it feels like empty rhetoric. How many times can we hear about inequality without addressing the underlying systems that perpetuate it? The author also kept pointing to the need for "more education," but I have to ask: education for what? To perpetuate a cycle where we’re aware of the problem but do nothing about it?

Here’s the hard truth: there will always be inequality, especially when it comes to helping those in need. Prioritization happens, and it's not always fair. I want to help the vulnerable—who wouldn’t?—but how can I when I, and many others, are barely able to sustain ourselves? We may not be starving, but making rent in an overpriced city, dealing with inflation, and trying to keep afloat takes everything. It’s unrealistic to expect the average person to sacrifice their already precarious stability to solve global crises. Yes, the 1% could redistribute their wealth—but do we really believe that’s going to happen?

And then there’s the more uncomfortable, unpopular opinion: what if overpopulation is the elephant in the room that no one wants to acknowledge? We treat any discussion of limiting population growth as inhumane, pointing to China’s draconian policies as a cautionary tale. But isn’t it just as inhumane to watch people suffer in poverty and climate disasters because the system is broken? We cling to the hope that things are fixable, but articles like this one lull us into a false sense of progress. Instead of offering solutions, they point out the obvious: women, particularly in the global south, have it worse. Yes, we know this. But what's next?

In the end, it’s a system of winners and losers, and most of us are just trying to survive. We vote, we try to make changes, but how much has really changed? Public policy moves at a snail's pace, and meanwhile, people are suffering. I can vote and keep being politically active, but I also need time to enjoy my life. If we’re stuck in this impossible game, why not make the most of it while we can?

At the end of the day, the problems are bigger than any of us individually. Maybe instead of writing articles that rehash the same points, we should focus on actionable solutions. Or better yet, admit that some things are beyond fixing. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s reality.