From Heinrich Böll Stiftung - Objective: To develop and strategize on recommending possible gender indicators, as well as gender-responsive sector indicators, for climate-relevant funding contexts, such as the Performance Measurement Frameworks (PMF) for the GCF.

The workshop was structured around an introductory presentation on the status of GCF and specifically PMF operationalization, given by Anna Williams, a specialist consulting on monitoring and evaluation with the GCF Secretariat. This was followed by short descriptions of lessons learned and challenges experienced with respect to the integration of gender considerations in the Climate Investments Funds (CIFs), the climate instruments under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Adaptation Fund. Gender and sector experts discussed then in small groups possible improvements to the existing GCF PMFs, focusing on the indicators still to be decided. A concluding feedback session in the plenary then collected and discussed small group proposals and formulated some key recommendations. It is expected that these will provide useful suggestions for the finalization of the GCF PMFs, to be decided either at the upcoming 10th or 11th GCF Board meetings later this year.

From UNDP - Gender responsiveness refers to outcomes that reflect an understanding of gender roles and inequalities and encourage equal participation, including equal and fair distribution of benefits. Gender responsiveness is accomplished through gender analysis, that informs inclusiveness. Often, we must try to support efforts that transform unequal gender relations to promote shared power, control of resources, decision-making, and support for women’s empowerment.  

This reports details how to design these activities for sectoral actions in climate initiatives, which then encourages equal participation, and fair distribution of benefits.  

From United Nations - Just as women and men have unequal access to rights, resources and opportunities, they relate to and interact with the natural environment in different ways, face differing vulnerabilities and impacts, and have unique adaptive capacity related to climate change, disasters and use of natural resources. The nexus between gender and environment has been of interest for decades, with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development providing renewed impetus to the discussion. The Agenda calls for a better and sustainable future for all, making it implicit development cannot progress without addressing inequality, discrimination and exclusion affecting women and men in all spheres, including in relation to the environment. However, the links between gender and environment are not well understood and gaps in data availability impede progress assessment. Regional level follow-up and review form an integral part of the overall accountability framework for the 2030 Agenda.

This paper provides an overview of recent initiatives to measure the gender-environment nexus, identifies priorities and takes stock of related data and capacity gaps in the Asia-Pacific region. The paper puts forward a proposal for a Gender-Environment Indicator Set in Asia and the Pacific, which includes indicators from the global Sustainable Development Goals framework and beyond, capturing issues of particular relevance for the gender-environment nexus in the region.

From Oliver Wyman Forum - More than a fifth of major corporations have pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Yet few actively include or consider women in their climate action decisions and plans. This is a mistake. Research shows that women are the most likely change‑makers for climate in economic areas from corporate leadership to product development. But these potential contributions are generally overlooked, we discovered in interviews with more than 20 companies across a range of industries. These challenges should be linked together, especially given the similarities in their requirements for tangible impact: committed leadership, a rigorous focus on data, and continuous learning across the organization. Our conversations and research uncovered opportunities for corporations to speed up the world’s race to net zero by mainstreaming gender considerations in climate focused business initiatives — in particular, by actively considering women in three roles: Climate action leaders; Climate-lens investors; Low-carbon product influencers.

From UN Women - This new guide provides corporations and their suppliers with a deeper understanding of the barriers and challenges preventing women-owned businesses from accessing and fully participating in local and global values chains. It provides the tools and techniques for reducing or eliminating these barriers and for leveraging the vast untapped economic potential represented by women-owned businesses. For many women, entrepreneurship offers a path to economic empowerment and it is incumbent upon corporations to help create conditions that permit this.

This guide is intended to support signatories of the Women’s Empowerment Principles, which UN Women and UN Global Compact jointly promulgate, to take action on Principle 5: Implement enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women. Corporations are well positioned to promote gender equality and empower women in their workplaces, in their communities and through their purchasing policies and practices.

From Financial Alliance for Women - A wide collection of how-to guides and case studies ranging from data analysis, market research, public policy, women’s market strategy, and more.

From Oxfam & Unilever - There is growing evidence that business leaders and managers understand that the unequal and heavy share of unpaid care and domestic work done by women and girls is an issue which matters to the effective (on-going) operations of their firms. Some companies have already taken practical steps to address the issue by supporting employees along their value chain, for example with workplace policies that enable care responsibilities to be met, and by innovating with products and services that meet the evolving needs of consumer family and household care, so simultaneously creating business value.

This Oxfam/Unilever Business Briefing shares complementary learning and insights gleaned from working on unpaid care and domestic work with communities and consumers around the world, and with businesses and brands to share emerging good practice and evidence.

From WEDO - Summary: A gender just transition must further take into account the role of women’s unpaid care work, particularly in developing countries, as well as women’s informal work, both of which in essence subsidize our current economic systems and are financially unrecognized or undervalued. The precariousness of women’s work is compounded by current trends such as seasonal and forced migration, the feminization of agricultural labor, the lack of formal recognition for women as farmers, the lack of health protections in the informal sector, the transportation of women in Qatar and the Arab peninsula, among others. Women entrepreneurs are also disproportionately represented in small enterprises, which have less access to credit and loans, and in the micro and small informal sector. As feminists in the labor movement denounce, while working conditions in general are poor in many industries, they are often worse for women.

From WOCAN and the W+ Advisory Council - This white paper posits that if we don’t address gender and climate jointly, we undermine both agendas. By integrating the two, we can amplify the impact of both. The cost of inaction is high. To reach the scale required for fast climate results, we cannot afford to exclude the knowledge, skills and networks of women by neglecting their contributions to tackle climate change, nor ignore the threats climate change poses to global gains in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.

From Green Climate Fund (GCF) - This manual addresses GCF’s potential to mainstream gender into climate finance, building on its mandate to support a paradigm shift to low-emission and climate-resilient development. Developed with UN Women, this toolkit guides GCF partners on how to include women, girls, men, and boys from socially excluded and vulnerable communities in all aspects of climate finance.

From Asian Development Bank - The paper highlights the need and demand for mitigation measures that tap women’s potential to contribute to emissions reductions and sustainable development.

From Asian Development Bank - This publication confirms the shared commitment of ADB and the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) to mainstreaming gender equality in climate change and showcases how this priority is being integrated into the design of ADB’s CIF projects.

Jessica Espinoza Trujano & Anne-Marie Lévesque (Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment)- “Development finance institutions (DFIs) play a major role in mobilizing private sector investments in developing countries. While there has recently been an increasing interest among DFIs in gender-lens investing, these efforts have been somewhat blind to the question of women’s unpaid work and have not yet led to a stronger investment focus on the care economy. Adopting what has been defined by other feminist scholars as a transformative approach to care, this article analyses the potential transformative effects of private sector investments in the care economy by DFIs to help build more resilient and gender-equitable economies following the global COVID-19 pandemic. The authors find there is significant potential for DFIs to approach investments with a more strategic gender- and care-lens and contribute to the recognition, reduction, redistribution, reward, and representation of care work, in line with their objective to promote sustainable socioeconomic development in developing countries.”

From Gender-Smart Enterprise Assistance Research Coalition (G-SEARCh)- “This research measured the effectiveness of seven types of TA provided to 21 SMEs across four sectors and three regions. The study confirms that TA activities contribute to positive business and social outcomes for companies and their stakeholders such as employees, customers, distributors, and producers.”

This report from FSA Open Policy Lab summarises gender diversity challenges in Japan’s startup ecosystem based on 19 individual interviews, discussion at a workshop, data analysis and literature review conducted by the Open Policy Lab. Three main findings in this report are as follows: Firstly, Japan needs to overcome the persistent gender inequality in the management of listed companies. While numerous measures have been in force, female leaders of the newly listed companies account for only 2%. Secondly, gender diversity in the startup ecosystem is a critical agenda from economic perspectives. Lacking in gender diversity, male-dominant companies may suffer from a variety of losses, including the impact on profitability. Third, all stakeholders in the startup ecosystem should act now to change the status quo. Investment in startups has been on the rise. If current practices remain unchanged, existing distortions would likely be maintained or even strengthened.

From IFC and We-Fi - “Across the world, women play key roles as distributors and retailers of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), however, the extent of their participation varies. This learning brief introduces how gender equality can be advanced within the distribution activities of the FMCG sector. It presents an emerging business case, the challenges, and recommendations to address these challenges. The brief is based on IFC projects in Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, Philippines, and Sri Lanka; desk research; and interviews with market participants. The target audience comprises FMCG sales and distribution teams; FMCG sustainability teams; e-supply chain actors, including business-to business (B2B) distribution platforms; and investors seeking to accelerate gender equality.”

From Frontier Brokers and Australian Aid - “The report shares insights and process learning from design and early implementation of the Frontier Brokers’ projects. Key takeaways are included for funders, brokers, and others in the investment community who are interested in pursuing gender lens investing, and the report also includes recommendations for DFAT and other donors to pursue in promoting gender lens investing.”

From Equileap- This report measures gender equality in the global workplace and provides data and insight into the corporate sector. It ranks 4,000 public companies across the world across 19 criteria.

From Moxie Future: This study provides clear data that a more diverse boardroom leads ot bolder measures in addressing climate change after studying 159 global firms, some of which are the world’s biggest carbon emitting companies.

From Parallelle Finance- This report looks at 2021 in review and explores the various dynamics impacting the field of gender lens investing. It provides analyses of gender lens equity funds, DEI equity funds, and gender lens fixed income funds and vehicles.