pb-178-2-fa97c6c9d4806803.pdf

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies examines the intersection of climate change, gender inequality, and human mobility in Africa. It argues that gender-neutral climate policies deepen existing inequalities and that women, despite being key agents of adaptation, face disproportionate risks and barriers to resources, finance, and decision-making.

• Climate change disproportionately impacts women due to existing gender roles and socioeconomic inequalities, which act as a 'fragility amplifier'. Women and girls globally spend nearly 200 million hours daily collecting water; in water-scarce regions, the need to travel further restricts their access to safety, livelihoods, and education.
• In Sub-Saharan Africa, women are responsible for 80% of food production but rarely own the land they work. This lack of land tenure prevents them from accessing credit, scaling up farming, or investing in resilience technology.
• Migration serves as a critical adaptation strategy that can empower women by increasing autonomy and diversifying income. However, gender norms and behavioral restrictions often limit women's ability to make independent migration decisions, increasing their risk of 'involuntary immobility' or exposure to violence and exploitation during forced displacement.
• Gender-responsive climate finance in Africa increased from an average of US$80 million in 2010 to US$1.6 billion in 2019, yet over 75% of total climate development finance in Africa during that decade failed to consider gender.
• Climate finance is often inaccessible to the most vulnerable because 74% is provided as loans rather than grants. Furthermore, there are no universal accounting or reporting standards for gender-responsiveness, making it difficult to track the effectiveness of such funding.
• Women are often at the forefront of climate adaptation, developing innovations such as better soil management and drought-resistant seeds. Research indicates that involving women in decision-making leads to more sustainable outcomes; for example, peacekeeping projects involving women are 35% more likely to last at least 15 years.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). pb-178-2-fa97c6c9d4806803.pdf. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PB-178-2.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. pb-178-2-fa97c6c9d4806803.pdf. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PB-178-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=pb-178-2-fa97c6c9d4806803.pdf |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PB-178-2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndpb1782fa97c6c9d4806803pdf, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{pb-178-2-fa97c6c9d4806803.pdf}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PB-178-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }