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Women, and particularly poor women, suffer disproportionately from the impact of climate change and disasters triggered by natural hazards. Their recovery from post-disaster shocks is typically less rapid than that of men as a result of their lack of resource ownership and human capital endowments, disadvantaged socioeconomic position, lack of voice in decision-making processes, and disproportionate care responsibilities. The same factors hamper women's adaptive capacity and access to _climate smart_ technology and production inputs in agriculture, as well as their capacity to capture economic opportunities provided by growing _green economy_ value chains. When poor households suffer from multiple climate-related hazards, they may adopt extreme coping actions that can lead to long-term and intergenerational vulnerability, such as early marriage for girls, selling land and other assets for less than their value, withdrawing children from school, and reducing their food consumption.

Women play a critical role in managing climate and disaster risks through their coping knowledge and experience in effectively mobilizing resources. However, their roles remain undervalued in climate policies and finance. Empowering women and recognizing them as agents of change, rather than simply victims, and supporting their participation in CCDRM policy and program development are fundamental requirements of sustainable development.

The growing recognition of the centrality of gender equality and women's empowerment in CCDRM has resulted in a number of global initiatives, including (i) the Paris Agreement; (ii) the Lima Programme on Gender, adopted by the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; (iii) gender policies and action plans adopted by global climate financing mechanisms such as the Global Environment Facility, the Climate Investment Funds, and the Green Climate Fund; (iv) Sustainable Development Goal 13.b; and (v) gender actions under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015 2030). Nonetheless, there are significant gaps in the capacity and commitment of countries to integrate gender equality in CCDRM work. Even those countries that have explicitly acknowledged the vulnerability of women to climate change and the impact of disasters have yet to define specific actions, work programs, and financing and implementation arrangements. Most countries find it challenging to design gender-responsive CCDRM projects. Key stakeholders such as women's groups and national machinery responsible for gender equality are largely excluded from important policy and program decision making.

Although national environmental laws will play an important role in effectively implementing national commitments to gender equality in CCDRM, little work has been done to critically assess the need for and means to implement legal reforms.

There is an unprecedented opportunity for women to benefit from growing green economies, but prospects for advancement from low-skill, entry-level positions to high-skill, higher-paying green jobs are hindered by existing gender inequalities. These include limited access to skills training and technical and vocational education and training (TVET), lack of finance, care responsibilities, limited access to assets such as land, and gender stereotypes in the existing labor market that reproduce the same gender gaps in the green economy. Reforms and demonstration of effective initiatives that are likely to accelerate green jobs and entrepreneurship for women are urgently needed to make the green economy value chain gender-inclusive.