Gender-responsive Climate Action in East and Southern Africa

In East and Southern Africa, women and girls shoulder a disproportionate share of the impacts of climate change. Their limited access to land, natural resources, finance, technology, decent work, social protection, and infrastructure significantly constrain their resilience and ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Despite these barriers, women and girls are mobilizing across the region as powerful agents of change, leading climate and environmental action in their communities and beyond. However, their voices, agency and participation remain under-recognized, under-supported, under-valued, and under-resourced, reinforcing their low representation in governance and decision-making at all levels.

Advancing gender-responsive climate policies and programmes is essential, not only for delivering effective and inclusive climate solutions but also for fulfilling women’s rights and upholding the principle of leaving no one behind. This requires dismantling structural and systemic barriers to women’s access to climate decision making, green technologies, and land rights, exploring the opportunities for climate financing, strengthen stakeholders' capacities, knowledge and data generation for evidence-based decision making, and investing in women and girls’ skills, agency, leadership and capacity to benefit from emerging opportunities in the green and blue economies.

Our vision is to ensure that women and girls are at the center of climate action, and green transition, leveraging opportunities for blue and green jobs, greater resilience, and leadership at all levels.

Our solutions:

• Gender-responsive climate policies: supporting country offices and regional economic communities to mainstream gender in climate policies, legislation and frameworks (Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), Long Term- Low Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS), Green Growth strategies, Blue Economy plans, climate financing among others. Strengthen the technical and leadership capacities of climate actors such as National Gender and Climate Change Focal Points, CSOs, WROs, and other key stakeholders in the climate space to ensure that the outcomes of global, regional and climate negotiations under the three RIO Conventions (UNFCCC, UNCBD and UNCCD) are gender responsive, and reflects the rights, needs and voice and leadership of women and girls. More specifically equipping the gender negotiators with tailored technical expertise and tools for climate negotiations
• Job creation in the green and blue economies: Promoting women’s employment and entrepreneurship in the green and blue economies by advocating for, and supporting sustainable high-quality public goods, services and resources that strengthen women’s participation in green and blue jobs across sectors.  
• Climate resilient agriculture: Enhancing women’s leadership, skills, and access to resources in climate-resilient agriculture, promoting women’s engagement in agri-value chains, including support to women cooperatives, strengthening women’s access and use of digital tools, and supporting women’s access to finance and markets.
• Strengthening women’s land rights and tenure security: Promoting the integration of women’s land rights into climate, agriculture and related policies and legislative frameworks and shifting social norms that hinder women’s land rights and tenure security.