Gender Equality
In societies where people are discriminated against based on gender, ethnicity, class, and caste, being a man or woman is often a decisive factor in determining the levels of risk they face from climate change, extreme and uncertain weather, and changes in the environment and economy.
Gender inequality is a root cause of poverty. Climate change, in turn, is making poverty worse. This means that the chances of achieving a better life for many women and girls are threatened by a double injustice: climate change and gender inequality.
Women, as a result of gender roles and societal norms, are often more directly and severely impacted by climate change, while, at the same time, they have a unique perspective to develop creative and effective solutions.
Involving both men and women equally in decision-making processes results in more sustainable climate action. CARE’s community-based adaptation projects prove that men and women can play complementary roles. The better our understanding of how gender dynamics influence people’s vulnerability to climatic changes, and what options they have to deal with these changes, the more successfully we can target groups and action.
Peer discussion activity as part of a project about gender equity and women empowerment in the workplace. Chaidana, Haricane, Gazipur.
CARE promotes gender-transformative climate policies, plans and actions
- We pay particular attention to to strengthening women’s voice and leadership by increasing their confidence, negotiation, and communication skills to participate in informal and formal decision-making spaces especially related to climate services, adaptation planning or natural resources management such as land and water which are critical to resilience building.
- We work with women-led and women-rights organizations, both at local and international level, on common-shared climate strategies and actions to amplify their voices.
- We collaborate and influence all powerholders to change their behaviors towards the poorest and most marginalized people, particularly women and girls so that they give them a seat at the negotiation table and listen to them and to ensure all climate relevant policies and climate finance is gender transformative
Featured Content
Tackling the Double Injustice of Climate Change and Gender Inequality
This paper provides an overview of the links between climate change, gender inequality and four key impact areas of CARE’s work – food and nutrition security, women’s sexual and reproductive rights, women’s economic empowerment, and humanitarian action. This publication is intended to inspire action, reflection and conversation about how to move development forward in light of these issues, to ensure CARE and development practitioners are better equipped to achieve sustainable poverty reduction and social justice.
Making It Count: Integrating Gender into Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction
Making It Count offers practical questions, actions, tools and resources for integrating gender into climate change and disaster risk reduction interventions. It is designed to be an easily accessible entry point for practitioners, and was created through several consultations with multiple stakeholders and experts with experience in climate change and gender. Whilst it is Vietnam focused, most elements can also be useful for both government and non-government actors around the world.
Gender-Transformative Adaptation
This paper investigates the concept of gender transformation within adaptation to climate change. Focusing explicitly on adaptation within the agriculture sector, the paper describes various cases where gender equality outcomes have been sought and secured – and how this has been achieved.
CVCA Handbook
The Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis (CVCA) Handbook is a tool used to gather and analyze information on community-level vulnerabilities to and capacities for climate change. It informs the identification of actions, at the community level or more broadly, that support communities in increasing their resilience to climate change.
Design of Gender Transformative Smallholder Agriculture Adaptation Programs
This How to Do Note (HTDN) is intended to provide guidance on how to design smallholder agriculture adaptation program that consider the differential impacts of climate change on women, men and youth smallholder farmers. This includes recognizing that program interventions – from design to staffing to capacity development of beneficiaries and local organizations – need to consider how gender will affect sustainability and impact. The experiences, social positions and differing access to resources of marginalized populations are fundamental considerations in the design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of gender transformative smallholder agriculture adaptation programs.
Orientation Guide on Gender Equality and Adaptation
CARE has developed a wide range of tools, guidance and research on gender equality and adaptation, particularly around agriculture and natural resource management. This document brings together CARE’s work over the past eleven years and draws from programing across CARE’s approach and global outcome areas. This resource provides an orientation in CARE’s gender transformative adaptation work.