Climate change is increasingly driving global hunger and food insecurity, with women and girls among the most affected. Droughts, floods, water scarcity, sea level rise, biodiversity loss, and land degradation disproportionately impact them due to pre-existing gender inequalities. Women, especially those in Indigenous and rural communities, have less control over assets, limited access to extension and weather services, and bear the burden of unpaid care and domestic work. These factors exacerbate gender inequalities, while also increasing vulnerability to malnutrition and chronic hunger. 

Yet, women and girls are essential actors in climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Many apply ancestral and Indigenous knowledge to natural resource management and adaptation, but their exclusion from decision-making processes continues to limit the effectiveness and equity of climate responses. 

The COVID-19 pandemic and other zoonotic diseases have exposed the depth of gender inequalities and GBV faced by women and girls worldwide (FAO, 2023). Conflicts, protracted crises, other types of shocks and their consequences (e.g. displacement) are major drivers of global hunger, disrupting food production, economic activity, and access to nutritious food, challenges that disproportionately affect women and their families. 

Conflicts make it harder for women to protect or reclaim assets, thereby limiting their ability to meet their own and their families' nutritional needs. These situations, as well as climate-related shocks, can force women and girls into harmful coping strategies, such as early marriage and transactional sex (FAO, 2023).  

• Strengthen gender-responsive climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation and invest in climate-smart and agroecological practices tailored to women’s needs. 

• Fund and support local women-led and community-based organizations addressing climate change, conflict, and pandemic-related risks. 

• Engage women and girls in consultations on crisis responses, acknowledging their experience and knowledge. 

• Ensure full and equal participation of women and girls in national and international climate-related policy discussions and foras. 

• Address the gender dimensions of pandemics, disasters, and conflicts, especially for displaced and Indigenous women. 

• Support resilient local and regional food systems that support women farmers while complementing global value chains for food security and nutrition. 

• Implement social protection measures like cash and food transfers, prioritizing crisis-affected women and girls. 

• Ensure safety and dignity for women and girls in humanitarian responses, including safe distribution sites and GBV prevention.