

GaudiLab

About the Centre of Excellence on Gender-smart Solutions
Why the Centre of Excellence is needed?
Climate change impacts for women and men can overwhelmingly differ due to pervasive historical and existing gender inequalities caused by unequal power relations and structures, discriminatory laws and customs, and unequal access to and control over resources. Consequently, women and girls are disproportionately affected by disasters. Thus, there is a clear imperative to consider the gender-dimensions within the context of Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance.
Yet, when gender dimensions are incorporated, they often remain vague, uncoordinated, not prioritized and are not backed by sufficient capacity, resources and monitoring mechanisms to ensure successful implementation. Against this background, the vision of the Centre of Excellence on Gender-smart Solutions is to provide gender –sensitive, -responsive and -transformative approaches to Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance solutions and address the differential gender-specific impacts of climate change. It provides an online-based repository of information through a knowledge-sharing platform to aggregate resources, support leadership and promote best practices, research and training to address gaps and challenges.
To date, no other platform exists that collects, bundles, generates or coordinates information and knowledge on gender-related aspects in the area of Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance. Thus, the Centre of Excellence on Gender-smart Solutions aims to ensure open and transparent information flows with relevant actors and support, promote south-south and north-south knowledge exchanges.
The purpose of the generated resources is to offer tangible suggestions to overcome gender-specific and social exclusion related differences in the impact of climate and disaster risks related to socio-cultural norms and the specific roles and vulnerabilities that these societal constructs create on gender.
How it connects to the InsuResilience Global Partnership?
In recognizing the necessity to include gender dimensions within the broader climate and disaster risk management framework, the High-Level Consultative Group – the highest governing body of the InsuResilience Global Partnership, has prioritized gender considerations, with a particular focus on women and children, through the following actions:
- Identified gender mainstreaming as a cross-cutting objective under the Vision 2025, a six-year work plan setting ambitious and comprehensive resilience targets for the InsuResilience Global Partnership,
- Tasked the InsuResilience Secretariat to form and mobilize a Gender Working Group and mandated the establishment of a Centre of Excellence on Gender-smart Solutions under work item 3.2 a) of the Vision 2025 Workplan,
- Commissioned two studies to provide a background on how to apply a gender-lens to Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance and provide an overview on the current entry points on integrating gender considerations into different models of climate risk insurance,
- High-level endorsement of the Declaration on Gender, as the framework to address differential gender impacts of CDRFI solutions in the operationalization of the Partnership’s Vision 2025.
Against this backdrop, the formation of a Center of Excellence on Gender-smart Solutions is an important milestone toward the success of the InsuResilience Global Partnership Vision 2025 and will enhance the inclusion of gender dimensions within the CDRFI arena in line with the Declaration on Gender.
As a repository of information and a knowledge-sharing platform, the Center of Excellence on Gender-smart Solutions is the go-to platform to guide practitioners and policy makers on innovative inclusive gender- responsive and -transformative quality CDRFI solutions. The Platform will address the gender-specific and intersectional needs of poor and vulnerable women, men, and children, including understanding women’s additional barriers to economic participation.
Activities commissioned by the InsuResilience Secretariat
2024
- LIVE TALK 08: Confronting Challenges in Gender-Smart Climate and Disaster Risk Finance: Resources and Toolkits. Report and Webinar
2023
- LIVE TALK 07: How can CDRFI policies and programmes address gender- based violence (GBV)? Report and Webinar
- LIVE TALK 06: Exploring New Frontiers in Gender-Smart Climate and Disaster Risk Finance Policymaking: A Toolkit. Report and Webinar
- A2ii and InsuResilience Scholarship Opportunity, Deadline for Application 28th February 2023.
- Analytical Study: Gender and Poverty-related Barriers of the Urban Poor to access Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance: Evidence from the Mahila Housing Trust
- LIVE TALK 05: Addressing Poverty and Gender-related Barriers of the Urban Poor to access Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI). Report and Webinar
2022
- Step by Step Guidance: Gender-Lens Investing in Climate and Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance (CDRFI) Solutions
- LIVE TALK 04: Gender-smart Climate and Disaster Risk Investing and Grant Making. Report and Webinar
- A2ii and InsuResilience Scholarship Opportunity
- Scholars for 2022 from: Argentina, Cambodia, Mexico, Malawi, Zambia
- The Centre of Excellence as a guest on the Podcast The Sustainability Journey
2021
- Official Launch of the Centre of Excellence on Gender-smart Solutions at COP26 in Glasgow
- Policy Report: The Nexus between International Gender and Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance Frameworks to support with National Action
- Step by Step Guidance: How to translate international commitments into action to achieve gender-smart Climate Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance Solutions
- Step By Step Guidance: A Gender-smart Approach to Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Of Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI) Programmes
- Glossary of Key Terms and Concepts for Gender, as it Relates to Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance
- LIVE TALK 03: How to Implement Gender-Related Climate Risk Finance Commitments and Strategies on the Ground? Report and Webinar
- A2ii and InsuResilience Scholarship Opportunity
- Scholars for 2021 from: India, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Philippines, Mexico
2020
- Soft-launch of the Centre of Excellence on Gender-smart Solutions
- LIVE TALK 02: Demonstrating Impact: How to monitor and evaluate gender-responsive Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance? Report and Webinar
- LIVE TALK 01: Integrating Gender Responsive Strategies into Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance Solutions. Report and Webinar
- A2ii and InsuResilience Scholarship Opportunity
- Scholars for 2020 from: Philippines
- Declaration on Gender
2019
- Kick-off of the Gender Working Group
- Integrating Gender Considerations into Different Models of Climate Risk Insurance (CRI)
- A2ii and InsuResilience Scholarship Opportunity
- Scholars for 2019 from: Madagascar, Rwanda
2018