Empowerment Strategies and Gender-Responsive Climate Policies

A gender-responsive approach to climate action involves three interconnected strategies: reforming discriminatory laws, leveraging women´s expertise in resource management, and prioritizing gender-focused climate finance.

I. Address Gender Inequality in Services and Reform Discriminatory Laws

Structural inequalities often restrict women´s access to resources and essential services. These barriers, discussed in our previous blog post, highlight the urgent need for reform.

By transforming discriminatory legal frameworks and improving service delivery systems, countries can enable women to play a pivotal role in climate resilience efforts. Legal reforms, coupled with supportive policies, are fundamental to addressing gender disparities and empowering women within climate action initiatives.

Below, we explore how various nations are aligning their legal and service-oriented systems with these objectives.

Reforming Laws to Support Women's Empowerment 

Legal restrictions and customary practices frequently deny women the right to own land, limiting their access to critical resources such as water and credit. This, in turn, constraints their ability to adopt climate resilient agricultural practices and technologies.

However, some countries are pioneering reforms to overcome these barriers:

• Rwanda has implemented landmark legal changes, including the 1999 Succession Law and the 2005 Land Law, which grant women equal rights to inherit and own property. These reforms have empowered women smallholder farmers to embrace climate-smart agricultural practices. For instance, women now play a key role in the adoption of sustainable farming methods, as highlighted by WFP initiatives and the CSA program. Research by (Abbot et al., 2018) examines how these laws have reshaped women's access to land and the effectiveness of dispute resolution mechanisms.

  
  

• India has enhanced women's access to sustainable energy through microfinance programs facilitated by the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA). These programs empower women to invest in renewable energy technologies, such as solar pumps, fostering both financial independence and climate adaptation.

Addressing Inequality in Service Access

Gendered disparities in service access disproportionately affect women, especially in their roles as caregivers. They face heightened risks, such as malnutrition, heat-related illnesses, and reduced mobility during climate-related emergencies. These challenges are exacerbated by inadequate healthcare, sanitation, and clean energy services.

Policies and infrastructure that fail to consider women´s unique needs inadvertently perpetuate these inequities. For example, traditional energy policies often overlook the critical importance of clean household energy, exposing women to indoor air pollution.

Countries leading in gender-sensitive service integration include:

• Kenya: The Red Cross integrates reproductive health services into disaster response frameworks, ensuring that women in drought-affected areas have access to critical care during emergencies. This initiative is supported by partnerships with organizations like The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

  
  

• Philippines: Disaster shelters are now designed with women´s needs in mind, including separate spaces for privacy and sanitation. This thoughtful infrastructure has led to increased female participation in evacuation processes, enhancing community resilience.

  
  

• Nepal: The Biogas Support Program  provides women with access to biogas stoves, significantly reducing reliance on firewood. This not only improves indoor air quality but also mitigates deforestation-a key contributor to climate vulnerability.

II. Women's Local Knowledge and Perspectives Are Vital for Sustainable Resource Management.

Women in rural areas hold invaluable ecological knowledge through their roles as caregivers, farmers, and resource managers. Their generational understanding of seed, medicinal plants, water conservation, and soil health fosters sustainable approaches to securing essential resources such as food, water, and fuel.

Women´s practices are linked closely linked to biodiversity, positioning them as key agents in climate change adaptation. These practices not only contribute to ecosystems by enhancing their status within communities.

Leveraging Women´s Knowledge for Sustainable Practices

To fully integrate women´s expertise into sustainable resource management, three core strategies are crucial:

UN Women, IPCC, WRI, UNFCCC (Gender Action Plan), UNDP

Several initiatives exemplify these strategies:

• Open Cities Africa: This project aims to develop information infrastructures to address urban resilience challenges. By prioritizing community engagement-particularly women´s participation in participatory mapping- the project identifies critical features such as market areas, safe shelters, and gender-specific services. This approach also seeks to close the gender digital gap, fostering equitable access to digital tools and data-driven solutions.

  
  

• MDE Saweto Peru: Funded by the Forest Investment Program, this initiative empowers indigenous communities to manage their territories holistically, respecting self-determination and governance. It also supports productive projects led by women, making their efforts visible and strengthening their decision-making roles.

  
  

• UNFCCC Gender Action Plan: This plan emphasized incorporating women´s knowledge into national climate policies. For instance, co-management agreements in Canada enable indigenous women to collaborate with policymakers and technical experts, ensuring the protection of boreal forests while honoring traditional ecological knowledge.

  
  

Incorporating women´s knowledge into resource management fosters inclusive, effective climate solutions. By improving ecosystems health and promoting equality, such approaches enhance community resilience and long-term sustainability.

III. Gender-Responsive Climate Finance: Key Mechanisms and Implementation

Incorporating gender considerations into key climate financing is essential to address systemic inequalities and recognize women's specific needs and contributions. Persistent barriers, such as discriminatory practices and unequal access to financial mechanisms, have exacerbated inequalities in resource allocation and services (e.g., health care, caregiving responsibilities).

Strategies for Gender-Inclusive Climate Finance

To promote gender equality and empower women through climate finance, key strategies include:

Climate Financing in Action: Unlocking resources for Women´s Climate Resilience

Climate finance initiatives like the Green Climate Fund (GCF), Global Environment Facility, UN Women´s climate finance programs, and microfinance institutions are empowering women to lead in climate adaptation and mitigation.

• Green Climate Fund (GCF): prioritizes gender equality in funded projects and ensures women are representing in decision-making.

• Global Environmental Facility: integrates gender consideration across programs and promotes women's participation in governance.

• UN Climate Programs: focuses on empowering women through training and resources for climate adaptation and mitigation.

  
  

Gender-responsive climate finance ensures women have the resources and agency to contribute effectively to climate resilience and mitigation. By addressing financial inequalities, such mechanisms create a pathway for more inclusive and impactful climate action.