Taking Gender Mainstreaming Seriously in Climate Finance

The document examines the intersection of gender and climate finance, highlighting how gender inequalities shape the differentiated impacts of climate change. It argues that while international frameworks like the UNFCCC have increasingly acknowledged gender, climate finance remains largely 'gender neutral' and lacks enforcement mechanisms. The brief identifies significant barriers to gender mainstreaming, including a lack of technical capacity and a tendency to conflate 'gender' with 'women's issues'. It positions public development banks (PDBs) as critical agents for change, recommending they move beyond symptomatic treatments of inequality toward a gender-transformative approach that addresses root causes and power imbalances.

• Climate change impacts are experienced differently based on gender, with women and girls—particularly in the Global South—often facing higher risks regarding health, hygiene, sanitation, and gender-based violence, while men and boys face unique vulnerabilities linked to societal expectations of manhood.
• Despite the inclusion of gender in UNFCCC decisions and the Paris Agreement, climate finance has a poor record of gender consideration, often remaining 'gender neutral' and lacking the enforcement mechanisms necessary to ensure implementation.
• Several systemic barriers hinder the integration of gender into climate finance, including a lack of gender analysis in budgets, limited technical capacity among experts, and political resistance from those who fear gender focus will detract from increasing total financing amounts.
• Public development banks (PDBs) frequently misunderstand 'gender' by using it interchangeably with 'women', leading to women-focused strategies rather than true gender mainstreaming that addresses the broader gender-climate nexus.
• To be effective, PDBs must shift to a gender-transformative approach that moves beyond treating symptoms to tackle the root causes of inequality, such as power imbalances and social norms.

APA

Babugura, A. A., Duran, C. V., Acosta, M., & Ferraz, J. (2023). Taking Gender Mainstreaming Seriously in Climate Finance. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SAIIA_PB_270_TakingGenderMainstreaming.pdf

Chicago

Babugura, Agnes A, Camila Villard Duran, Mariola Acosta, and Júlia Ferraz. Taking Gender Mainstreaming Seriously in Climate Finance. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2023. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SAIIA_PB_270_TakingGenderMainstreaming.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Babugura |first1=Agnes A |last2=Duran |first2=Camila Villard |last3=Acosta |first3=Mariola |last4=Ferraz |first4=Júlia |title=Taking Gender Mainstreaming Seriously in Climate Finance |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=June 2023 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SAIIA_PB_270_TakingGenderMainstreaming.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{babugura2023taking, author = {Babugura, Agnes A and Duran, Camila Villard and Acosta, Mariola and Ferraz, Júlia}, title = {{Taking Gender Mainstreaming Seriously in Climate Finance}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/SAIIA_PB_270_TakingGenderMainstreaming.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }