Blogs & Opinions

How Gender and Climate Change Can Be Integrated into Military Operations (Book Preview)

Dec 18, 2018 | Jody Prescott

As the United States develops a strategy to guide all military services on how to promote the participation of women in conflict prevention, management, and…

Southeast Asia Must Integrate Gender Considerations in Coastal Resource Management - Regional Gender Study

Dec 14, 2018

A Regional Gender Study completed in 2018 has shown that many countries in Southeast Asia are not adequately integrating gender considerations into their national policies…

Gender Differences in Public Understanding of Climate Change

Nov 20, 2018 | Matthew Ballew, Jennifer Marlon, Anthony Leiserowitz and Edward Maibach

While political views play a strong role in Americans’ opinions on climate change, there are many other individual, social, and cultural factors that influence public…

Opinion: Protect Indigenous, Community, and Women's Land Rights for Food Security and Nutrition

Oct 16, 2018 | Fany Kuiru and Paul de Wit

Legally recognized and protected land rights for indigenous peoples and local communities in the developing world are a key part of revitalizing the world’s food…

Land Rights: Liberia Is at a Crucial Moment in Its History

Jun 13, 2018 | Lennart Dodoo

A historic election gives President George Weah the momentum and mandate to enact a robust agenda, and Mr. Weah has rightly identified secure land rights…

Common Pool: Equitable Water Governance Brings Prosperity to Sabkhali

Jun 12, 2018

The Sundarbans, a vast forest in the coastal region of the Bay of Bengal, are considered one of the natural wonders of the world. Lying…

Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction: Women and Climate Change Adaptation

Apr 10, 2018 | Ellie Anderson

According to a 2015 Georgetown University report on women and climate change, “the impacts of climate change – droughts, floods, extreme weather, increased incidence of…

A More Just Migration: Empowering Women on the Front Lines of Climate Displacement

Apr 3, 2018 | Saiyara Khan

“It is often expected that women care more, and therefore women are going to volunteer, and be the saviors” in times of crisis, said Eleanor Blomstrom,…

DRC Mining Industry Is a Prime Example of How Corporate Power Threatens Women’s Rights

Mar 25, 2018 | Valerie Bah

On a research trip to the Kamituga gold mine in her home province of South Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), activist Marie-Rose…

Q&A: Getting Women's Land Rights Recognized

Mar 19, 2018 | Philippine Sutz

Philippine Sutz describes work under way to help secure land rights for women in Senegal and Tanzania, and explains how accessing land gives them greater…

Connecting the Dots: Natural Resources, Women, and Peace

Mar 8, 2018 | Silja Halle, Clare Church

In the recent peace process with the FARC in Colombia, however, women made up one third of participants, and the resulting peace agreement stands as a model…

Rep. Lee Introduces Women and Climate Change Act of 2018

Mar 8, 2018

On February 5, 2018, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced the Women and Climate Change Act of 2018 (H.R.4932) to “address the disparate impact of climate…

Gender in Conflicts - Interview with Saferworld on Building Peace [Video]

Oct 6, 2017 | Climate Diplomacy

Saferworld is an international conflict prevention organization. The Head of Policy, Larry Attree, in this video, shares the lessons learned over the years to end…

Reforming Women's Property Rights in Afghanistan

Sep 6, 2017 | Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, Becky Allen

On paper, the law is clear: men and women enjoy equal property rights under Afghanistan's 2004 Constitution. But on-the-ground reality says otherwise as a combination…

Addressing Women's Burdens from Water Risks Could Help Reduce World Hunger

Aug 10, 2017 | Ayushi Trivedi, Natalie Elwell, and Sara Walker

For hundreds of millions of women, providing food to feed their families is a daily imperative. Many of them depend solely on the meager yields…

Reconceptualizing Women's Participation in Water Governance

Jul 24, 2017 | Priyam Das

There is growing emphasis on community-managed water supply and sanitation that embodies a new paradigm in water governance based on demand management. However, projects have…

Inside Conflict: What Does Research Reveal About Women's Rights and Changing Gender Roles in Yemen?

Jul 24, 2017 | Suzy Madigan

Until the acceleration of violence in 2015, women in Yemen were making some headway in challenging a system that largely excludes them from public life.…

How Men Can Promote Gender-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction

Jul 13, 2017 | Alex Rohlwing

Gender’s importance and the vital roles played by women in all facets of development, humanitarian aid, and disaster response are increasingly recognized. But recognition is…

Global Rights, Local Struggles: Barriers to Women's Participation in Community Land Decision-Making

Jun 28, 2017 | Celine Salcedo-La Vina

Seven women quietly filed in and sat on the rough cement floor of the tiny stone block house. We were in a small, dusty village…

Understanding Gender, Conflict And The Environment

Jun 5, 2017 | Alex Reid

The importance of gender in our understanding of the environment and conflict is often camouflaged. Take, for example, the infamous natural resource exploitation that characterised…

Understanding Gender, Conflict and the Environment

Jun 5, 2017 | Doug Weir

Last year’s landmark UNEA-2 resolution on conflict and the environment, the most significant of its kind since 1992, was the product of tough negotiations. Fortunately…

LDC Women in World Climate Talks: Building a Cohort of Champions

May 2, 2017 | Janna Tenzing

The upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn will include a workshop on 10-11 May to develop elements of a 'Gender…

National Monitoring and Review of the Sustainable Development Goals and Development Justice

Apr 25, 2017 | ADWID

Since 2012, Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) has been advocating for a transformative development framework that addresses the structural causes of…

For Rural Afghan Women, Agriculture Holds the Potential for Better Jobs

Jan 12, 2017 | Anuja Kar and Mansur Ahmed

In Afghanistan, agriculture continues to be the backbone of the rural economy – about 70% of the population in rural areas is engaged in on-farm…

Missing Voices: Let's Hear Women's Experiences of Climate Change

Jan 6, 2017 | Anne Schulthess

Attending the UN climate talks feels like a big deal. Despite having been in the climate change movement for some years, Bonn was my first…

Women's Leadership: Critical to Securing the Paris Agreement; Essential to Fulfilling It

Nov 11, 2016 | Courtney Durham, Natalie Elwell, and Cynthia Elliot

The Paris Agreement on climate change wouldn’t be what it is today without action from strong women from around the world. Christiana Figueres, the UNFCCC…

At the Eye of the Storm: Women and Climate Change

Jul 26, 2016 | Aimee Jakeman

Struggling to save their failing crops. Walking farther afield to fetch clean water. Protecting their families from devastating storms and violent conflicts. “Women are usually…

When Climate Change Exacerbates Conflict, Women Pay the Price Says Mayesha Alam

May 13, 2016 | Sean Peoples, New Security Beat

Climate change has the potential to exacerbate conflict and political instability, and women will pay a steeper price than their male counterparts when it does,…

Enhancing Women's Role in Land Management Decisions

Mar 24, 2016 | Thierry Berger

How can women's rights be strengthened when decisions are being made about large-scale agricultural investments that affect their livelihoods?

A recent IIED webinar examined how women's…

Can Mining Dig Rural Women Out of Poverty in Ghana?

Mar 8, 2016 | Amani Mhinda

Walking within the artisanal and small-scale mining population in Tarkwa, one of Ghana's principal mining regions, it dawns on me that the local population has…