National Community of Practice for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Climate Change First Meeting Report

This report documents the first meeting of the National Community of Practice (COP) for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Climate Change, held on April 26, 2021, in Ethiopia. The meeting aimed to finalize the COP's Terms of Reference, develop a one-year action plan, and strengthen the integration of gender equality into the country's Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy.

• The National Community of Practice (COP) was established following recommendations from a 2019 workshop and a subsequent December 2020 training of trainers. The COP is designed to coordinate learning between stakeholders and sustain gender-related work across different actors, with the Women's Affairs Directorates (WADs) of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission (EFCCC) serving as co-chairs, guided by the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth (MoWCY).
• Previous assessments conducted in 2018 and 2019 revealed that while gender was considered in some sector-specific activities, there was limited information on the nexus between climate change and gender. The integration of gender into climate actions was hindered by inadequate contributions from the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth (MoWCY) and sector-level Women, Children and Youth Directorates (WCYDs), primarily due to limited financial and human capacity and their exclusion from decision-making and planning processes.
• The meeting participants identified specific vulnerabilities that make women more susceptible to climate change, including higher poverty levels, lower education, and exclusion from political and household decision-making. Additionally, women's roles in fetching water and collecting wood link their activities more directly to the environment, though the report emphasizes that women should be viewed as contributors with unique knowledge in agriculture and natural resources rather than solely as vulnerable victims.
• The COP's first-year action plan includes several key activities: conducting a gender-responsive policy analysis to produce a policy brief, mapping stakeholders and CRGE-focused projects at federal and regional levels, documenting best practices for gender equality in climate actions, performing gender audits (capacity needs assessments) of CRGE units in sector ministries, and developing proposals for donors to support capacity development.
• During the deliberation of the Terms of Reference (TOR), it was decided that the COP would not expand its immediate objectives to include direct community-level results, such as reducing women's vulnerability or documenting indigenous knowledge, nor would it include regional stakeholders as members at this stage due to current capacity constraints, although modalities to reach regional stakeholders will be explored in the future.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2021). National Community of Practice for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Climate Change First Meeting Report. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/13-May-21-Proceeding-of-Gender-and-Climate-Change-Community-of-Practice-Workshop_final-report.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. National Community of Practice for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Climate Change First Meeting Report. 2021. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/13-May-21-Proceeding-of-Gender-and-Climate-Change-Community-of-Practice-Workshop_final-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=National Community of Practice for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Climate Change First Meeting Report |date=26 April 2021 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/13-May-21-Proceeding-of-Gender-and-Climate-Change-Community-of-Practice-Workshop_final-report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2021national, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{National Community of Practice for Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Climate Change First Meeting Report}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/13-May-21-Proceeding-of-Gender-and-Climate-Change-Community-of-Practice-Workshop_final-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }