IDRA, an urban research institute based in Barcelona, has released a report that attributes the excess of heat‑related deaths among women to social factors rather than physiological differences. The analysis, which examined mortality data from the summer of 2022, shows that women died 56 % more often than men after adjusting for life expectancy.

Professor Ronita Bardhan, who teaches environment and health at Cambridge University, warned that focusing solely on death counts is "myopic". She argued that the gender gap emerges from the way housing, neighbourhood design and unpaid care work intersect with rising temperatures.

Housing stock and urban heat

In many European cities, older apartment blocks built between the 1950s and 1980s lack proper insulation and ventilation. In Barcelona, these dwellings are disproportionately occupied by older women, according to the IDRA study. "If your building cannot flush out the heat trapped during the day, you are practically inside an oven," Bardhan explained.

Even when air‑conditioning units are present, the heat can linger in poorly insulated flats, turning them into death traps during prolonged heatwaves. The problem is compounded in densely populated districts where green space is scarce. A February analysis of urban shade distribution found that low‑income neighbourhoods and peripheral zones have far fewer tree‑lined streets and shaded pavements than affluent areas.

Unpaid care work amplifies exposure

Women's greater exposure to indoor heat is also linked to the unequal division of domestic responsibilities. Bardhan noted that women continue to shoulder the bulk of childcare, elder‑care and household chores, meaning they spend more time at home during the hottest parts of the day. "Women are often the family's shock absorbers," she said, describing how they prioritise relatives' comfort over their own.

This dynamic can turn a simple thermostat into a site of power imbalance. Cristina Ramos, co‑director of Ecoserveis, a company involved in the EU‑funded Cooltorise project, recounted cases where male partners kept the remote control for the air‑conditioning unit, leaving women trapped in sweltering rooms. "That's another form of gender violence," Ramos said.

Financial control can reinforce the same pattern. Ramos added that men sometimes accuse women of overspending on cooling measures, buying curtains, blinds or running fans, because they are the ones who monitor indoor temperatures while men are away at work.

Data gaps hinder policy response

Accurate statistics on summer energy poverty are scarce. Eurostat's most recent figure, dating from 2012, estimated that 19 % of European households could not keep their homes cool during hot months. When asked by TEC whether the agency intends to update the data in light of climate‑driven temperature spikes, Eurostat confirmed that no new survey is planned, even as winter energy‑poverty figures were refreshed in February.

The lack of up‑to‑date information makes it difficult to target interventions where they are needed most. Bardhan argued that designing solutions for the "average" citizen leaves vulnerable sub‑groups invisible. "We need more representation in our data to identify different sub‑populations at risk and then design heat‑protection measures that meet their specific needs," she said.

Implications for European policy

The findings arrive as the European Commission pushes forward the Cooltorise project, which aims to develop community‑based cooling strategies and to raise awareness of gendered impacts of heat. If policymakers ignore the social dimensions highlighted by IDRA, they risk perpetuating a cycle where women, especially those in low‑income housing, bear the brunt of climate‑related mortality.

Union representatives across the continent have called for stricter building‑code standards that mandate retrofitting of older blocks with insulation and ventilation systems. They also demand that social‑housing programmes incorporate cooling solutions and that public funds be earmarked for subsidies to households unable to afford electricity for air‑conditioning.

Industry groups, meanwhile, caution that rapid retrofitting could strain already tight energy supplies and increase costs for consumers. They argue that market‑based incentives, such as tax credits for energy‑efficient upgrades, are a more sustainable route.

What is clear from the IDRA report is that heatwaves are not merely a meteorological phenomenon; they are a social one. By exposing how gender, income and housing intersect, the study provides a roadmap for European cities to protect the most vulnerable residents as climate change makes extreme heat a permanent feature of the continent's future.