Addressing the Sexism of Climate Change at CSW68

People working locally to respond to climate challenges know something that everyone needs to understand: The world is an integrated place, and if we don’t yet know how to rub our bellies and pat our heads at the same time, we need to learn fast.

Environmental threats and climate change affect everyone, but not everyone equally. Gender norms and inequalities limit people's access to resources, decision-making power, and economic opportunities, exacerbating their vulnerability to environmental and climate change. As billions are invested in responding to climate change, it is imperative to address the gender inequalities that make some groups especially vulnerable.

To provide tools and resources for joint action on gender and the environment, the Chroma Collective was proud to launch its Gender*Green Agenda learning platform in a side event at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68). The event at the Ford Foundation brought together partners and allies working at every level and from every angle to bring the gender and green agendas together. 

The panel was moderated by Saranel Benjamin, Co-Executive Director of MamaCash, the oldest international women’s fund, which supports projects related to environmental justice and gender equality. We heard from Sharon Armstrong, Director General, Global Affairs Canada, who affirmed GAC’s commitment to working at this intersection through its best practices and funding portfolios. GAC has been an active member of the Chroma Collective’s Green Agenda Working Group and a major contributor to the development of the online learning platform.

Semerian Sankori, founder of Patinaai Osim, Indigenous Women’s Rights Organisation in Kenya, and part of Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA) made an impassioned statement about the need to bring these areas of work to Kenya, especially on behalf of her community, the Maasai. She highlighted the need to be attentive to “false climate solutions,” including those that sacrifice achievements in one area while appearing to solve limited problems in another. The panel also featured Susan Asio, Economic Justice Lead, Urgent Action Fund Africa, a feminist funding organization working at the regional level. UAF Africa is a very progressive funding system and has supported grassroots organizations across the continent.

Coco Jervis of MamaCash is also a member of GAGGA, as both groups have asserted for a long time that “climate change is sexist.” GAGGA specifically operates as a collaborative platform that brings together various organizations, including MamaCash, to work towards shared goals at the intersection of gender and environmental justice.

We heard from Karen Burbach, Head of the Task Force for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (Minbuza). The Minbuza has long funded work at the intersection of gender equality and climate response at the local level and is keenly interested in best practice in its collaborations.

Representing the Chroma Collective, Margaret Greene described the newly created Gender*Green Agenda learning platform as a joint resource that could lift up the work of everyone committed to this intersection. She demonstrated how the platform is organized and invited those present to share case studies and other links that could be added to enrich this public resource.

The framework presents program examples across sectors and geographies. It demonstrates that the challenges and the way we have to think about the solutions are universal, whether one is based in Guatemala, Malawi, Pakistan, Canada, or Vietnam. The platform also shares a host of resources: case studies, guides, institutions working at this nexus, institutional statements by Chroma members, courses and trainings, and more.

The knowledge and inspiration exist to integrate gender in diverse climate change-related investments, and leverage the green agenda to advance gender justice. The Gender*Green Agenda learning platform’s fundamental contribution is to offer a simple framework for how these important goals of gender equality and the green agenda can be pursued simultaneously. Rub, rub, pat, pat. It must be done and we can do it!