Women who aim for high political office often face plenty of challenges along the way. As a result, “they have an ability to resist and lead which is undoubtedly stronger than that of most men with a typical career path,” says Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. That hardiness is coming in handy as many of the world’s cities – a growing number of them led by women – move to take the lead in adopting clean energy, adapting to climate threats and otherwise battling climate change. Women, “have the courage to bring about those changes,” said Hidalgo, Paris’ first woman mayor and the first female leader of a global network of more than 80 cities leading on climate action. In two years, the number of women in charge of large cities that are taking the lead on climate change has risen from four to 16, according to C40 Cities, which is organizing a conference for women leaders in New York.