Gender Equality in a Low Carbon World (GLOW), 2021-2024, is a three year programme funded by the International Development Research Centre.
It supports research on promising women-led solutions for green economies and climate action.
Twelve action research projects were selected following an open, competitive call, based on their relevance to local challenges and clear plans to influence policies and actions.
The research projects span 17 countries* across South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Central and South America. They are exploring innovations for women’s economic empowerment and climate action in agriculture, forestry, land restoration and tourism. The projects are led by local research experts, who are working hand-in-hand with the people who can implement solutions.
Please visit our project pages to explore the research projects in greater depth.
A further initiative, the GLOW Knowledge Translation Hub, seeks to synthesise knowledge from across the programme, support peer learning among the projects and engage relevant international audiences with the findings. Discover more about the Knowledge Translation Hub here.
Why is GLOW needed?
Covid-19 is expected to knock more than US$12.5 trillion off global economic output, it has cast a ‘long shadow’ over developing economies, in the words of the UN Secretary General. It has erased decades of women’s economic gains. Since then, the Ukraine war has contributed to rising food, fuel and fertiliser costs worldwide, creating shocks especially in Africa and for least developed countries. Meanwhile, communities are increasingly affected by the shocks and stresses of climate change, including extreme weather events.
International financial institutions and governments are pledging funds for economic recovery and stabilisation. But will these policies and investments be socially inclusive? Women were already behind men on development progress. How can recovery measures boost women’s economic empowerment?
As for the climate crisis: policies and investments should align with the ambition of the Paris Agreement. It commits countries to limiting temperature rise to 2oC and as close as possible to 1.5oC. Doing so will avoid the worst impacts of climate change – which again, fall on the most disadvantaged people.
However, most governments’ strategies for economic development are still not aligned with a 1.5oC world. And there is a long way to go, to ensure that low-carbon policies and strategies take gender equality into account. That’s why GLOW research will address these pressing issues and propose practical solutions.
*The countries are: Bolivia, Cambodia, Cameroon, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Nicaragua, Palestine, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Vietnam.