Gender Assessment SAP057:AY4SF -Adolescents and Youth for a Sustainable Future: strengthening climate change adaptation and community resilience through green jobs in Zimbabwe

The assessment examines how patriarchal norms, limited resource access, and climate change intersect to increase the vulnerability of women, adolescents, and youth in rural Zimbabwe. It identifies systemic barriers to green jobs and climate resilience, including time poverty due to unpaid care work, limited land ownership, and high rates of gender-based violence. The report concludes with a framework to mitigate GESI risks and ensure equitable access to project benefits.

• Patriarchal and religious norms in Zimbabwe strictly define gender roles, placing the burden of unpaid household duties, child care, and resource collection (water and fuel) on women and female adolescents, while men are pressured to be the sole providers.
• Climate change exacerbates the vulnerability of women and girls by increasing the distance and time required to collect water and firewood, which increases their labor burden and exposes them to physical and sexual violence.
• Economic pressures and climate-induced food insecurity lead to high rates of school dropouts for both genders; girls are frequently pushed into early marriages or transactional sex, while boys are pulled into unstable, low-paying employment.
• Women and youth face significant barriers to owning productive assets; land rights are primarily held by adult men, and traditional inheritance customs typically exclude women from land ownership.
• There is a substantial gender gap in financial inclusion, with women accounting for only 31.1% of total loans in 2020 due to a lack of collateral and limited access to formal banking.
• Gender-based violence (GBV) is prevalent, with 1 in 3 women experiencing physical or sexual violence before age 18, and climate-induced stress is linked to increased domestic violence and alcoholism.
• Women are predominantly concentrated in the informal sector and subsistence agriculture, which limits their representation and influence in community and national decision-making processes.
• Persons with disabilities face intersectional marginalization, experiencing higher rates of exclusion from health and education services and lower economic participation compared to those without disabilities.
• Digital literacy and ICT access are gendered, with female youth having lower smartphone ownership and more restricted internet use than their male counterparts.
• The project identifies several GESI risks, including the potential for 'benefits capture' where men take over lucrative green jobs once subsistence activities are commercialized, and the risk of social backlash when women step outside traditional roles.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2025). Gender Assessment SAP057:AY4SF -Adolescents and Youth for a Sustainable Future: strengthening climate change adaptation and community resilience through green jobs in Zimbabwe. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/sap057-gender-assessment.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Gender Assessment SAP057:AY4SF -Adolescents and Youth for a Sustainable Future: strengthening climate change adaptation and community resilience through green jobs in Zimbabwe. 2025. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/sap057-gender-assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Gender Assessment SAP057:AY4SF -Adolescents and Youth for a Sustainable Future: strengthening climate change adaptation and community resilience through green jobs in Zimbabwe |date=27 October 2025 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/sap057-gender-assessment.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2025gender, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Gender Assessment SAP057:AY4SF -Adolescents and Youth for a Sustainable Future: strengthening climate change adaptation and community resilience through green jobs in Zimbabwe}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/sap057-gender-assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }