Our Statement on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment ahead of CSW66

Read our statement – submitted to the Secretary-General – which gives input to the CSW66’s priority theme “Achieving gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes”, as well as the review theme “Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work (agreed conclusions of the sixty-fifth session)”.  

Based on the Gender Just Climate Solutions Programme, in collaboration with the Women and Gender Constituency and the work of WECF as an ecofeminist organisation, we recommend to: 

• Ensure equal access to land, capital and technology for all women and girls to value their work and knowledge about land management, biodiversity and sustainable practices. This can be achieved through gender transformative finance mechanics and the protection of climate and environmental rights defenders, who suffer from gender-based violence.  
• International recognition of care as a green job. With policies that are supporting the care economy, caring for people and the planet becomes a measure of wealth and empowers women in the care-sector.  
• Recognize harmful environmental practices disproportionately affecting the lives of women in all their diversity and call upon States to implement the CEDAW General Recommendation No. 37 on the Gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change.  
• Reduce gender inequalities in all stages of environmental and climate policy making by using gender-impact assessments and disaggregated data before policy making and create a stronger cooperation with civil society organizations working on the link between gender and climate. We also call for a stronger enforcement of the UNFCCC gender action plan and recommend to address the implementation of national policy making.  
• Include women and girls in environmental and climate decision making processes by implementing Gender Quotas in decision-making bodies on all levels of government, following an intersectional approach to achieve a diversity of representation in environmental decision-making.  
• Promote more diversity and inclusion for all women and girls in the green transition by encouraging them to enter jobs in the energy, transport and technology sectors. This can be promoted through financial and institutional support for projects which promote women’s leadership, support locally-led Gender Just Climate Solutions and empower women and girls through education and training.