Updated September 2017
Growing evidence suggests that men and women experience climate change differently and have different priorities and ability to respond to negative climate change impacts. In order to enable men and women to meet their own needs and leverage their strengths and contributions, we must pay close attention to gender-based differences and embed them into the design of climate change policies and programs. IFPRI research has contributed to the evidence base on gender and climate change through research on the following issues:
- How long-term climate change and short-term climate shocks affect men and women differently, particularly in terms of control over assets.
- The characteristics and causes of gender differentials in adaptive capacity (assets, rights, information, empowerment in decision making).
- The adaptation options, strategies, and approaches (individual, household, or collective) available to and preferred by men and women.
- The scope for group-based approaches and joint decision making to improve household resilience to climate change.
- How gender differences in adaptive capacity and control over adaptation decisions influence development outcomes, such as nutrition and environmental security.
- How responses to climate influence women’s empowerment through changes in decision-making, control over resources, and time use among other factors.
- Policy innovations, investments, and approaches that support and enable adoption of CSA technologies.
The Gender, Climate Change and Nutrition (GCAN) Integration Initiative supported by USAID’s Feed the Future Program works with USAID missions and partners to enhance understanding of the linkages between climate, gender, and nutrition to more effectively address gender inequality, improve nutrition outcomes, and increase climate resilience. The project has developed a conceptual framework to illustrate these linkages, communicate with partners, and to identify and further explore the linkages for which little evidence exists.
A (CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security) CCAFS-funded project, “Increasing Women’s Resilience to Confront Climate Change,” completed in 2014, examined gender differences in climate change perceptions, impacts, and adaptation and coping strategies within selected sites in Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda, and Senegal using gender-disaggregated data collected from these sites. The research was done in collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), building on their in-depth farm characterization tool, IMPACTLite. An extension activity focused on identifying entry points for integrating research findings on gender and climate change into programs and projects by implementing partners engaged in climate change adaptation projects in Africa south of the Sahara based on a capacity needs assessment.
The project, “Enhancing Women’s Assets to Manage Risk under Climate Change: Potential for Group-Based Approaches,” funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and completed in 2014, focused on four case study countries in Africa south of the Sahara and South Asia (Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, and Bangladesh). The project catalyzed research on the linkages between gender, assets, climate change, and collective action in order to provide evidence on how climate change may differentially affect men and women, and on how group-based approaches–which are increasingly used in development projects–can improve resilience to climate change.
These projects have produced a number of publications and other outputs which are listed below.
Journal Articles and Book Chapters
- “Gender-Sensitive, Climate-Smart Agriculture for Improved Nutrition in Africa South of the Sahara,” in 2017 Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR): A Thriving Agricultural Sector in a Changing Climate: The Contribution of Climate-Smart Agriculture to Malabo and Sustainable Development Goalsm forthcoming.
- “Making Climate Change Adaptation Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa More Gender-Responsive: Insights from Implementing Organizations on the Barriers and Opportunities.” Climate and Development.
- “Addressing Gender in Agricultural Research for Development in the Face of a Changing Climate: Where Are We and Where Should We Be Going?” International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 15 (5).
- “Do Shocks Affect Men’s and Women’s Assets Differently? Evidence from Bangladesh and Uganda,” Development Policy Review (July).
- “Gender Differences in Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Participation in Group-based Approaches: An Intra-household Analysis From Rural Kenya.” Ecological Economics. 138. 99-108.
- “The Impact of Shocks on Gender-differentiated Asset Dynamics in Bangladesh.” The Journal of Development Studies 52(3): 377-395.
- “Microinsurance Decisions: Gendered Evidence from Rural Bangladesh.” Gender, Technology and Development 20 (2): 1-25.
Working Papers
- Climate Change and Variability: What Are the Risks for Nutrition, Diets, and Food Systems? IFPRI Discussion Paper, 1645.
- Integrating Gender into Climate Change Adaptation Programs: A Research and Capacity Needs Assessment for Sub-Saharan Africa. CCAFS Working Paper, 163.
- What Influences Awareness and Adoption of Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices? Evidence from Kenya. CCAFS Working Paper No. 79.
- Understanding the Policy Landscape for Climate Change Adaptation: A Cross-Country Comparison Using the Net-Map Method. IFPRI Discussion Paper No. 01408.
- Climate Change Adaptation, Assets and Group-based Approaches: Gendered Perceptions from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Mali and Kenya. IFPRI Discussion Paper, 01412.
- Microinsurance Decisions: Gendered Evidence from Rural Bangladesh. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1465.
- Adaptation Actions in Africa: Evidence that Gender Matters. CCAFS Working Paper No. 83.
- Land Rights Knowledge and Conservation in Rural Ethiopia: Mind the Gender Gap. IFPRI Discussion Paper 01386.
- Impact of Shocks on Gender Differentiated Asset Dynamics in Bangladesh. IFPRI Discussion Paper, 1356.
- Community-based Adaptation to Climate Change: A Theoretical Framework, Overview of Key Issues and Discussion of Gender Differentiated Priorities and Participation. CAPRi Working Paper, 109.
- Organizational and Institutional Issues in Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Management. Insights from Practitioners? Survey in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya and Mali. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1279.
- Exploring Local Perceptions of Climate-Change Impact and Adaptation in Rural Bangladesh. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1322.
- A Literature Review of the Gender-Differentiated Impacts of Climate Change on Women’s and Men’s Assets and Well-Being in Developing Countries. CAPRi Working Paper, 106.
- Do Shocks Affect Men?s and Women?s Assets Differently? Evidence from Bangladesh and Uganda. IFPRI Discussion Paper, 1113.
Policy Notes, Toolkits, Popular Press
- How to Ensure Nutrition for Everyone under Climate Change and Variability. GCAN Policy Note, 1.
- Climate Change, Gender, and Nutrition: Research Priorities for Zambia. GCAN Policy Note, 2.
- Climate Change, Gender and Nutrition: Support to USAID programs in Nigeria. GCAN Policy Note, 3.
- Climate Change, Gender and Nutrition Linkages: Research Priorities for Bangladesh. GCAN Policy Note, 4.
- Learning about Adaptation Possibilities by Talking to Kenyan Female and Male Farmers Separately. IFPRI Project Note 1.
- Implications of Gender-Focused Research in Senegal for Farmer’s Adaption to Climate Change. IFPRI Project Note 2.
- Gender and Climate Change Adaptation in Uganda: Insights from Rakai. IFPRI Project Note 3.
- Enhancing Women?s Assets to Manage Risk under Climate Change: Potential for Group-Based Approaches. Policy Note Series.
- Project Toolkit: Research Guide for Gender-Disaggregated Analysis of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation.
- Op-ed by Claudia Ringler on climate change and rural women in Outreach magazine.
Blog Posts and Videos
- Charting gender issues in agricultural development research under climate change, IFPRI Research Blog post, July 11, 2017.
- Why paying attention to gender matters for climate change adaptation. IFPRI Blog Post, November 12, 2015.
- Why rural women are integral in the upcoming climate change negotiations? IFPRI Blog Post on the US International Day of Rural Women.
- How to better support women wanting to adopt climate-smart agriculture practices? CCAFS Blog Post on Kenya outreach event.
- New analysis suggests gender differences in how farmers adapt to climate-smart agriculture? CCAFS Blog, June 10, 2014.
Workshops
- “Increasing the Resilience of Farming Communities to Climate Change through Shared Learning and Adaptation Decision-Making with a Focus on Gender.” COP20, IFPRI hosted side event. Video of event.
- IFPRI held a discussion forum on “Gender and resilience across the landscape–from Latin America, Africa, and Asia,” December 6, 2014, Global Landscapes Forum, during COP20.