How can Gender Equality help Address Climate Action

Extreme heat, wildfires, floods, droughts, and unusual rainfall affect millions of men and women around the globe, but their impacts vary by gender. Evidence shows that women and girls experience the greatest impacts of climate change, which amplifies existing gender inequalities and poses unique threats to their education, health, safety, and social and economic opportunities.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, women continue facing significant barriers in accessing land, credit, education, technology, jobs, and leadership roles. Social norms and gender roles often affect women's self-perception, aspiration, and time availability for accessing paid jobs, especially in male-dominated sectors or conducting entrepreneurial activities. Moreover, the unequal concentration of power and gender-based violence often prevent women from accessing leadership positions.

However, a growing body of evidence shows that women's participation and leadership in climate action is associated with better governance, conservation outcomes, and disaster readiness. Women play a fundamental role in natural resources management as well as in other productive activities at the household and community levels. It is demonstrated that women are also effective in leading local management groups, protecting their communities against natural disasters, and in decision-making roles. Moreover, women's specific knowledge contributes to biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. All this put them in a position to contribute to livelihood strategies adapted to changing environmental conditions. Such knowledge and capabilities should be applied to climate change mitigation, disaster reduction, and adaptation strategies.

What actions are being taken?

The IDB is helping countries in the region to integrate gender equality into climate investments across energy, transport, urban development, agriculture, forestry, water, finance, and land administration operations. Some examples of ongoing and completed projects that the IDB has been supporting are:

Increasing women's capacities to develop sustainable economic activities in the agroforestry sector.In Guatemala, the IDB is delivering training to female local producers on climate-resilient agricultural practices, livestock, and forestry activities which is having a positive impact on economic development, especially for the organic production of coffee, cardamon, and pepper.

Increasing the gender focus on energy transition. In Barbados, the Bank is supporting the preparation and implementation of a Gender Action Plan designed to achieve a gender-responsive electricity sector, with a more diverse and skilled labor force that contributes to greater productivity. Some of the concrete actions include encouraging women to study technical curricula and increasing their participation in technical fields such as renewable energy and electromobility; providing financial and technical support to women to start their own businesses in the sector - especially Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs); providing gender sensitivity training to public and private sector stakeholders; and improving work-life balance for employees in the sector.

Promoting gender equality in clean transport.In many countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, including Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic, the Bank promoted training activities on technical skills required to increase the participation of women as bus drivers. Activities also included increasing flexibility for women users by accommodating female heads of households and caregivers' transport needs in terms of routes, timetables, and payment options for trip purposes like shopping, leisure, or escorting. Actions also contributed to a decrease in sexual harassment towards women and gender minorities on buses and stations.

Promoting women's sustainable business models.In Honduras, the IDB supported the development of market opportunities for women-owned businesses on clean cookstoves and promoted local employment and capacity to use efficient stoves within rural local communities. The use of these cookstoves had a positive impact on health by reducing exposure to indoor air pollution and the incidence of respiratory diseases, especially in the case of women who usually stay at home and spend more time cooking.

There is so much more to be done on this front, but through collaboration and key actions to address critical gender gaps, we can make substantial progress. The IDB, in partnership with the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the International Climate Initiative (IKI), the NDC Pipeline Accelerator Multi-Donor Trust Fund (ACL), the Mitigation Action Facility (MAF), and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) among others, will continue collaborating in the design and implementation of gender and diversity activities in climate-related operations to achieve transformational impacts that accelerate the pace of change.

Women and girls are agents of change who are making a difference in mitigation and adaptation projects. Closing gender gaps and increasing women's participation in decision-making positions can accelerate efforts against climate change.

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