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

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

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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…

Indonesia: The Long Struggle of Women Farmers to Halt a Zinc Mine in North Sumatra

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Afghanistan: Saffron Industry Creates Job Opportunities for Afghan Women

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Seeing Women Behind Supply Chains: A Methodology to Strengthen Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Agrifood Systems

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Herder-Related Violence, Labor Allocation, and the Gendered Response of Agricultural Households

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Violent conflict between nomadic herders and settled agricultural communities in Nigeria occurs as both groups clash over the use of land and natural resources, in…

Pacific Islands: Climate Security in the Pacific: Emerging Trends, Priorities, and Solutions

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Pacific Island countries are among those most affected by climate change. Rising sea levels, shifting rainfall patterns and increasing extreme weather events threaten land, livelihoods…

Call for Proposal: Gender, Climate, and Social Cohesion

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Given Afghanistan's increased climate vulnerability and the dispropotionate impact on women anand girls, this CfP aims to (1) leverage media platforms (TV, radio, digital initiatives)…

Climate Justice in Action: Activism and Adaptation in Eastern Africa

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Eastern Africa is one of the most climate vulnerable regions of the world, and this book is the first to highlight the direct action and…

Brief: Gender-Responsive Action for Women's Food Security and Nutrition in Asia and the Pacific

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In 2018, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recognized the impacts of climate change in undermining food security for women, noting that…

Myanmar: Rohingya Women Build Confidence and Independence Through Adult Learning in Cox’s Bazar

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Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh — In the Rohingya refugee camps, the day begins before sunrise. Narrow alleys are already alive with movement as families prepare for another…

Liberia: COP30 - a Turning Point Missed - and a Line Drawn for Frontline Women Defenders

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Monrovia — COP30 has come and gone in Belém, Brazil--another global climate summit marked by lofty promises and limited political courage.

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Haiti, The Impacts of Cash for Work on Food Security and Gender Equality: Impact Evaluation

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Haiti faces severe food insecurity and gender inequality, with nearly half the population lacking adequate food and women especially vulnerable. WFP’s Food Assistance for Assets…

Guinea: Women Scatter Seeds, Restore Forests in Guinea, the ‘Water Tower of West Africa’

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For Mariame Condé, the seed-collecting work came at a critical time. In January 2022, she was pregnant and nearly out of food. Her husband had…

Winter in Afghanistan: Women and Girls in the Front Line as Hunger Deepens

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As winter sets in across Afghanistan, so does dread. “There’s usually a peak in child mortality in December and January, even in a good year,…

Liberia: UNDP Hosts Gender Workshop for Inclusive Forest Governance

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Monrovia, Liberia; December 11, 2025: To promote inclusive forest governance and ensure equitable participation in natural resource management, the European Union funded Leh Go Green…

Liberia: From Law to Reality: AWLN Champions Women’s Right to Own Land

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UK: Northern Ireland’s Rural Women at ‘Disproportionate Risk’ from Climate Change Carbon Budgets, Warns Campaign Group

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Rural women in the north are among those that could facing a “disproportionate” impact from the government’s future carbon-cutting budgets, according to a campaign group.

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Cultivating Women’s Leadership for Resilient Agrifood Systems

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Women’s representation and leadership have long been recognized as drivers of more inclusive, equitable, and resilient food systems. Yet, too often, leadership is confused with…

How Climate and Gender Shape Peace and Security: From Mandates to Meaningful Change

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October 2025 marked twenty-five years since the landmark Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Amid rising polarization, escalating conflicts, and the intensifying…

Rwanda: Women at the Heart of TREPA’s Land Restoration in Rwanda’s Eastern Province

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In Rwanda’s Eastern Province, women and girls were limited to contributing to landscape restoration and environmental conservation, while men often took on roles such as…

Gender is the Key to a Healthy Planet and People: Reflections from the Biodiversity-Health Press Conference at SBSTTA-27

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Traditional health systems, rooted in centuries of empirical knowledge, reveal the interdependence between ecosystems and human health. However, women’s ecological and health-related knowledge has often…

Kenya: How Gender-Transformative Innovation Bundles are Revolutionizing Food Security in Kenya

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In Makueni, Kenya, farmers are boosting yields and empowering women through new gender-transformative innovation bundles. Introduced to overcome low tech adoption, the approach merges farming…

The Power of Gender: New Generation of REDD+ Action in the LAC Region

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Afghanistan: UN Trust Fund Supports Women Livestock Farmers in Afghanistan’s Ghazni Province

International
The UN Afghanistan Trust Fund is helping women-headed households in Ghazni raise livestock, offering training and tools to support their livelihoods.

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UK: UK Announces Commitment to Advance Gender Equality in SA at G20

International
The UK pledges ZAR 18 million (£800,000) to South Africa’s Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) Fund. This will help more than 33,000 people through school-based…