Advancing gender equality and climate action

The document argues that gender-blind climate interventions risk deepening inequalities and undermining resilience. It proposes a project cycle that begins with representative stakeholder committees and gender-disaggregated data collection to understand differential vulnerabilities. The guide details tools like 'problem tree' analysis and the 'resilience wheel' to design transformative solutions. It emphasizes the use of SMART and SPICED indicators to track progress, illustrated through five case studies in Cambodia, Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria, and Ecuador, which demonstrate the 'double win' of achieving both climate goals and gender empowerment.

• Gender inequalities increase vulnerability to climate change because women often have less access to healthcare, education, and modern technology, and bear disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care work.
• Gender-blind approaches to climate projects treat male needs as the norm and risk perpetuating inequalities or undermining mitigation and resilience goals.
• Intentional gender-responsive design leads to more sustainable and effective climate outcomes, as involving women in decision-making and delivery improves project results.
• Effective gender-responsive planning requires a three-step process: forming representative stakeholder committees, gathering gender-disaggregated data on climate impacts, and identifying differing development priorities between men and women.
• Climate risk is determined by the interaction of three factors: the physical climate hazard, the degree of exposure based on location, and the vulnerability of the person, which includes their sensitivity and adaptive capacity.
• Gender-responsive budgeting is essential to translate gender objectives into financial commitments, ensuring resources flow to activities that reduce structural barriers to women's participation.
• Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) systems for gender and climate must use both quantitative and qualitative indicators that are SMART (Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound) and SPICED (Subjective, Participatory, Interpreted and Communicable, Cross-checked and compared, Empowering, and Diverse and disaggregated).
• In Cambodia, the CHAIN programme used a gender-transformative approach to increase the income of smallholder farmers, finding that modern techniques like drip irrigation reduced women's labour and increased their decision-making power.
• The EnDev III project in Tanzania demonstrated that profiling successful female role models and involving spouses in business discussions are effective strategies for motivating women entrepreneurs in the clean cook stove sector.
• The PROSPER project in Malawi highlighted the importance of intersectional data, revealing that female-headed households and those with members with disabilities were more likely to be in the lowest socioeconomic category ('hanging in').
• The ENGINE project in Nigeria used an 'all-of-community' approach, engaging boys, parents, and gatekeepers to shift norms and support marginalised girls' transition to sustainable employment as a form of social resilience.
• The ACCRE project in Ecuador showed that women were more active in conserving the páramos ecosystem and that establishing a women's savings and credit 'bank' facilitated economic self-sufficiency and leadership.

APA

DUPAR, M., & VELASCO, P. (2021). Advancing gender equality and climate action. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-Advancing-Gender-Equality-and-Climate-Action-WEB-2-November-2021.pdf

Chicago

DUPAR, MAIRI, and PATRICIA VELASCO. Advancing gender equality and climate action. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2021. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-Advancing-Gender-Equality-and-Climate-Action-WEB-2-November-2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=DUPAR |first1=MAIRI |last2=VELASCO |first2=PATRICIA |title=Advancing gender equality and climate action |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=2021 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-Advancing-Gender-Equality-and-Climate-Action-WEB-2-November-2021.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dupar2021advancing, author = {DUPAR, MAIRI and VELASCO, PATRICIA}, title = {{Advancing gender equality and climate action}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2021}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/CDKN-Advancing-Gender-Equality-and-Climate-Action-WEB-2-November-2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }