A review of the role civil society organizations play in gender mainstreaming.

1. Unpacking the Gender and Climate Change Nexus in Africa
Role of CSO in Mainstreaming Gender in Climate Change
Adaptation
By Mithika Mwenda – PACJA Secretary General

2. Introduction
Climate Change is a global issue affecting various parts
of the world in different and, at times, unique degrees.
It affects men, women, boys and girls differently.
It is important to always consider the different needs and
interests of men, women, boys and girls in climate
change intervention planning, implementation and
reporting.
This is what is known a gender mainstreaming in
climate change.

3. Cont
Mainstreaming of gender in climate change
adaptation should be done with the help of CSOs.
This is because CSOs are local and have better
engagement with the men and women at the
grassroots level.
Adaptation itself is a local concept and the
more it is owned by the locals, the higher its
success chances.

4. Role of CSO in Mainstreaming Gender in
Climate Change Adaptation
CSOs play an important role in ensuring that climate Change
Adaptation policies are gender responsive.
This is done though advocacy during which they ensure that
men and women are involved in a meaningful way in all
stages of the policy formulation and their specific needs are
effectively captured in the policies.
This is to ensure that policies have specific objectives with
regard to the promotion of gender equality, including a clear
framework for realizing these objectives.

5. Cont
The CSOs raise resources and manage them for and
with the local people to ensure that grassroots men and
women actively, meaningfully and equally participate
in the formulation of gender responsive
policies/interventions.
They act as intermediaries for channeling resources
between the governments/development
organizations/private sectors and men and women at the
grass root levels in developing and implementing gender
responsive climate change interventions.

6. Cont
CSOs advice governments, specialized
institutions, private actors and the public on
the best climate change interventions that will
advance gender equality in society.
This they do based on their knowledge of the
specific needs and interests of men, women,
boys and girls due to their close engagement with
grass root actors and stakeholders.

7. Cont
CSOs provide learning forums for men, women,
boys and girls at the grassroots level
This is done through building their capacities on
how to mainstream gender in climate change
interventions
This ensures that grass root stakeholders have
gender responsive climate change
projects/programmes and know how to undertake
gender responsive adaptive actions.

8. Cont
CSOs provide gender responsive feedback on various
climate change interventions to responsible government
departments, developments agencies and the public in
general.
The CSOs involved employ gender responsive motoring
and evaluation and reporting to get the feedback.
The purpose is to advice climate change stakeholders
on how to increase projects/programmes’ effectiveness
in achieving gender equality outcomes and to influence
future policies to be gender sensitive.

9. Cont
CSO’s act as the intermediaries between research
institutions and the men and women at grass-root
level by supporting research on gender aspects of
climate change and climate change adaptation.
The goal is to ensure that climate change research
are done using gender response approaches like
analyzing the effects of climate change from both
male and female perspectives.

10. Cont
They ensure that statistics on women as well as on
men are included when collecting and presenting
climate change data.
The goal is to have a gender responsive research
outcomes that are able to inform future climate
change adaptive interventions and policies to be
more gender sensitive.

11. Cont
CSOs play accountability roles by ensuring that
climate change stakeholders carry out interventions in
ways that fit the requirements of the gender
responsive climate change
legislations/policies/frameworks.
The accountability role monitors progress through
regular review of commitments made by various
parties and what they have delivered with regards
to gender responsive climate change interventions.

12. Cont
CSOs actively participate in formulation and review
of climate change budgets with gender lenses to
ensure that the finances are available, accessible
and benefiting local women and men and that the
budgeting advances gender equality and women’s
empowerment.
They also play the role of enhancing women’s
individual, community and group access to and
control of Climate Change Adaptation funding.

13. THANK YOU