Gender equality is a fundamental human right – it is also ‘smart economics’. An increasing body of evidence shows that gender equality and women’s empowerment would yield greater returns to economic growth and, more broadly, to sustainable development. Thus, it follows that “incorporating gender awareness and gender criteria into climate financing mechanisms and strategies would likewise constitute ‘smart climate finance.’”Nevertheless, women do not have easy or adequate access to funds to cover weather-related losses or to avail themselves of adaptation technologies. The reasons for this range from cultural and social barriers in education, political participation and decision-making processes to legal restrictions on access to capital, markets and land ownership.
