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

From Vulnerability to Agency: Gendered Dynamics of Food Security, Conflict, and Resilience in Eastern DRC

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Niger: How Community Shelters Protect Children and Help Women Restore Degraded Lands in Niger

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Liberia: New, Community-Led Conservation Delivering Promises

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Years ago, women in Wedjah and Jaedae Districts in Sinoe County processed cassava with their bare hands. Their story has changed for the better. They…

How CIMMYT is Advancing Women-centered Agriculture in Africa

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Uganda: How Women are Still Walking Miles for Water and Paying the Price

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Canada: PBI-Canada Notes Concerns about Risk of Violence to Indigenous Land Defenders, Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA People near Major Projects

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Peace Brigades International-Canada expresses concern that proposed major extractive projects brings an increased risk of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people in communities…

Latin America: From the Amazon to Mesoamerica - Women, Science, and Policy are Shaping Resilient Agri-food Systems in Latin America

International
Across Latin America, the transformation of agri-food systems is being driven by a powerful convergence: science, public policy, and the leadership of women farmers and…

Los cuidadores de pacientes con leishmaniasis visceral (kala-azar), en Kenia, resisten la lucha contra una enfermedad mortal que no distingue entre tribus ni niños

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Marzo de 2026, Pokot Occidental: Durante tres días, la lluvia ha caído sin cesar. El camino que lleva al Hospital del Subcondado de Sigor, normalmente…

The Kenyan Kalaazar Caregivers Holding the Line Against a Deadly Disease That Chooses No Tribe and No Child

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March 2026, West Pokot: For three days, the rain has fallen without pause. The road leading to Sigor Subcounty Hospital, usually a lifeline for families…

Brazil: Landless Women Mobilize for Agrarian Reform and Against Violence by Brazil

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This year’s National Day of Landless Women’s Struggles began on March 8 and runs until next Thursday, the 12th, with mobilizations in all regions of…

Iran: Aliabouzar - Iranian Women Show What It Means to Be a Freedom Fighter

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Iranian women are among the most courageous freedom fighters of our time. No group has challenged the Islamic Republic more consistently and more systematically than…

Why Women Are Central to Resilient Food Systems

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As climate change, economic instability, and biodiversity loss place increasing pressure on global food systems, building resilience has become an urgent priority. But resilience is…

Afghanistan: 8 March: UN Says Gender Inequality Has Worsened in Informal Settlements

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According to UN-Habitat, rapid urban growth, displacement, and the return of migrants from neighboring countries have worsened gender inequality in informal settlements.

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Uganda: Women Are Leading Uganda’s Environmental Transformation - Are We Supporting Them Enough?

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As Uganda joins the rest of the world to mark International Women’s Day 2026 under the theme “Give to Gain”, we must look beyond celebration…

Liberia: Women’s Land Rights Are Not Favors, They Are Rights as NAWoLaR Officially Launched in Monrovia

International
MONROVIA –The National Alliance for Women’s Land Rights (NAWoLaR) has been officially launched, signaling a unified national front to dismantle discriminatory practices that have long…

South Africa: Women Farmers in South Africa Pay the Cost of Broken Irrigation Systems – The Story of One Cooperative

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India: Supporting Women’s Leadership in Agrifood Systems in India

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Women are key actors in agrifood systems, playing leadership roles in agricultural cooperatives and producers’ organizations, large agribusinesses, and agrifood-related governmental and non-governmental institutions and…

Central African Republic: How Land Empowers Refugee Women and Builds Resilient Livelihoods in the Central African Republic

International
At dawn, the communal field slowly comes to life in the Korsi neighbourhood of Birao in Vakaga, Central African Republic. Women arrive in small groups,…

Hidden Hunger: The Gendered Impacts of Food Security and Malnutrition on Women and Girls in the West Bank

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The West Bank Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) Working Group produced this Gender Matters Bulletin: Hidden Hunger to highlight the gender-specific impacts of the ongoing…

Environmental Justice through Gender-Sensitive Debt-for-Nature Swaps in the Caribbean: An SDG Policy Perspective

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In an era of climate crises and debt burdens, debt-for-nature swaps offer debt relief in exchange for environmental conservation, holding promise for Caribbean small island…

Women From Rural, Forest, and Waterside Communities Fighting for Comprehensive and Popular Agrarian Reform

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Grassroots feminist women know that there can be no food sovereignty without women’s autonomy, just as there can be no social justice without land redistribution…

Integrated Assessment of Climate-Related Security Risks for Peace and Security in Blue Nile, Sudan, and Their Gender Dimensions

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The Blue Nile State in Sudan is grappling with a severe and escalating crisis, marked by an intensifying conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)…

Pakistan: International Consultant, Technical Advisor, Trafficking in Persons Research and Capacity-Strengthening

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Project Context and Scope:

IOM Pakistan is expanding its counter-trafficking (CT) and migrant smuggling prevention portfolio by generating new evidence and building local capacity. Recent initiatives,…

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Conflicts and Trends to Watch in 2026

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Entering 2026, the global security landscape is defined by record-high levels of armed conflict, democratic backsliding, geopolitical fragmentation, and an accelerating climate crisis—dynamics unfolding alongside…

Ecuador: Yachay Wasi Teaches Climate Lessons Through Indigenous Language and a Garden

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In Ecuador, a small intercultural bilingual school called Yachay Wasi treats environmental education as a political project rooted in Indigenous languages, farming, and justice. In…

Why Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Belong in Climate Action

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A conversation with Ipas research expert Sally Dijkerman on why climate action must include sexual and reproductive health and rights, and what it will take…

Gendered Dimensions of Climate-Related Security Risks in the OSCE Area

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This report examines how climate change is exacerbating security risks across the OSCE region through gendered and intersectional pathways. Drawing on policy mapping and stakeholder…