Uprooting Entrenched Gender Biases in Climate-Smart Agriculture

The paper argues that climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is often ineffective at benefiting women because it focuses on technical solutions while ignoring the social norms and institutional biases that hinder women's participation. It emphasizes that for CSA to be effective, it must move beyond technical approaches to incorporate gender and social equity as primary objectives, addressing both practical needs—such as labor-saving devices and climate information—and strategic needs, including secure land rights and leadership opportunities. The document recommends institutionalizing contextual analysis of social norms, diversifying project staff, and engaging women as equal stakeholders in the design and implementation of agricultural adaptation strategies.

• Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) initiatives often fail to benefit women because they prioritize technical solutions over the social norms and institutional commitments required to support women's uptake of technologies.
• To be gender-responsive, CSA must address two distinct types of needs for women: practical needs, such as access to training and labor-saving tools, and strategic needs, such as land rights and shifts in social norms regarding domestic responsibilities and leadership.
• Effective gender-responsive CSA requires a multi-level approach to engagement, including improving women's collectivization locally, increasing their presence in macro-level leadership, and promoting their decision-making power across all levels.
• The paper identifies several institutional requirements for optimal CSA outcomes, including budgeting for gender experts, creating staff awareness, and reorienting policy frameworks to enable technology adoption.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Uprooting Entrenched Gender Biases in Climate-Smart Agriculture. https://www.wri.org/research/uprooting-entrenched-gender-biases-climate-smart-agriculture

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Uprooting Entrenched Gender Biases in Climate-Smart Agriculture. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/uprooting-entrenched-gender-biases-climate-smart-agriculture.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Uprooting Entrenched Gender Biases in Climate-Smart Agriculture |url=https://www.wri.org/research/uprooting-entrenched-gender-biases-climate-smart-agriculture |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutenduprooting, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Uprooting Entrenched Gender Biases in Climate-Smart Agriculture}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/uprooting-entrenched-gender-biases-climate-smart-agriculture}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }