Women’s leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction and financing

Despite their key role in food systems, rural women lack equal access to productive resources needed for agricultural livelihoods and are often the last to eat when food is scarce - especially when disasters hit. Similarly, their access to climate-adaptation resources and participation in decision-making processes is limited, as leadership in climate action and governance is male-dominated and the decisions are less likely to respond to women’s needs and wants.

With this context in focus, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the African Risk Capacity Group (ARC), a specialised agency of the African Union, brought together policy makers and stakeholders for a virtual event this week to promote women’s and girls’ participation and leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and financing. The webinar was organized in the context of the 66th Session of the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66), where Member States, UN entities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions highlighted and discussed this year’s priority theme: “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.”

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