Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment

Women’s livelihoods are often strongly dependent on natural resources, particularly in rural areas. Accordingly, a key way to support economic growth is to help women derive greater economic value from the natural resources they manage and process, and valorizing their gendered roles in natural resource management. During and after conflict, women often take on some of the income-generating roles of men in their communities, making it essential that programs consider how women’s roles in income-generation shift during and following times of conflict. These considerations will improve peacebuilding outcomes.

However, women face significant barriers in capitalizing on natural resources, and particularly in leveraging their gendered roles in resource use. Lack of secure land rights remains a fundamental barrier in many contexts (see Land for more information). Furthermore, women often face barriers to employment in natural resource sectors due to low levels of formal education, which limit their capacity to participate in legislative or political processes that affect their livelihoods. However, gender equality is often not a priority of economic development programming and is even less so in fragile and conflict-affected areas. As a result, the impacts of gendered roles on economic development are often not considered and incorporated into peacebuilding interventions, hindering the economic outcomes for women whose livelihoods depend on natural resources—and for countries and communities.

Peacebuilding programming must focus on protecting women’s rights to productive resources, reducing barriers to employment, and building enabling environments for women’s economic development, while considering the specific context of conflict-affected and fragile states. Technical support and access to credit or savings groups can promote recovery through economic productivity, help women gain sustainable employment, and enable the development of natural resource-related enterprises. The UN Peacebuilding Commission recognized the important role of natural resources in women’s economic growth in its Declaration on Women’s Economic Empowerment for Peacebuilding. The Declaration calls on Member States to “take measures to promote sustainable livelihoods for households led by women […] in post-conflict societies, including through financial support and access to productive resources and sustainable income-generating activities.” In all of these efforts, it is important to integrate gender equality early in peacebuilding programming and consult women on the services they need most for their economic wellbeing. A comprehensive understanding of women’s needs and opportunities in natural resource sectors—and the impacts of conflict on those needs, opportunities, and sectors—are crucial for developing gender-sensitive programming and improving overall peacebuilding outcomes.

Key Resources

Women’s Economic Participation in Conflict-Affected and Fragile Settings

Declaration on Women’s Economic Empowerment for Peacebuilding

Resources

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