CC Asia Climate Fund (CC-ACF) Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan

The CC Asia Climate Fund (CC-ACF) has developed a Gender Assessment and Action Plan (GAAP) to address systemic gender inequalities in Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan. The report identifies significant barriers to women's participation in climate-vulnerable sectors, including limited land ownership, a gendered digital divide, and underrepresentation in STEM and leadership roles. To mitigate these, the Fund implements a Gender Action Plan (GAP) that embeds gender-responsive criteria into its ESG due diligence, mandates Gender Action Plans for portfolio companies, and establishes SEAH-safe grievance mechanisms. The goal is to foster transformational change by promoting women's leadership in the energy and agriculture sectors and reducing the gender pay gap within its investee companies.

• Kazakhstan demonstrates strong formal gender equality frameworks, but structural gaps persist in rural areas and male-dominated sectors. While women make up 49.1% of the workforce, they are significantly underrepresented in high-income sectors like transport, construction, mining, and petroleum, where they constitute only 22-24% of workers.
• In Kazakhstan, women's access to land and finance is severely limited by patriarchal norms. Only 14% of land titles are registered in women's names, and women account for less than 10% of farmland owners. Furthermore, women receive under 30% of commercial financing, particularly in technology and energy sectors.
• Uzbekistan faces deep-seated gender biases and occupational segregation. Women's labour force participation is 39.4%, compared to 72.3% for men. In the energy sector, only 12% of formal employees are women, and women hold less than 20% of leadership roles in rural land or irrigation institutions.
• Uzbekistan's agricultural sector is characterized by high informality for women. Women made up two-thirds of cotton pickers in 2021, and for 49% of these women, cotton harvest wages were their entire annual cash income. Only 5% of farms in Uzbekistan are managed by women.
• Mongolia is experiencing a reversal of gender equality gains, particularly in economic empowerment and political leadership. While women have high literacy (~98%) and tertiary education (36%), they are underrepresented in the energy sector, making up 26% of the overall workforce and 29% in renewable energy, which is below the global average of 32%.
• Rural Mongolian women are disproportionately affected by climate variability, such as dzuds and droughts. They face systemic barriers to land-use rights, with 68% of surveyed women identifying this as a barrier to household decision-making and climate-resilient livelihoods.
• Across all three countries, a significant gendered digital divide exists, particularly in rural areas, limiting women's access to climate-smart tools, finance, and green economy jobs. In Uzbekistan, women's digital competencies were found to lag 24% behind men in a 2022 assessment.
• The Fund's monitoring framework sets specific targets for Year 5, including reducing the unadjusted gender pay gap by at least 5 percentage points where the baseline gap exceeds 10 percentage points, and ensuring 100% of investees have functional SEAH-sensitive grievance mechanisms.
• The Fund maintains a zero-tolerance policy for Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (SEAH). It requires mandatory risk screening for all subprojects and the establishment of survivor-centered grievance protocols with multiple intake channels.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2026). CC Asia Climate Fund (CC-ACF) Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp297-gender-assessment.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. CC Asia Climate Fund (CC-ACF) Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan. 2026. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp297-gender-assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=CC Asia Climate Fund (CC-ACF) Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan |date=25 March 2026 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp297-gender-assessment.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2026asia, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{CC Asia Climate Fund (CC-ACF) Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp297-gender-assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }