Shifting the power for more inclusive climate action

The effects of climate change are felt by everyone, but some groups are especially vulnerable due to intersecting factors like age, ability, gender, poverty or position within social hierarchies. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, small-scale farmers are increasingly vulnerable to climate extremes and uncertainties. However, women, who make up nearly half of the agrifood workforce, face unique barriers to investing in climate-resilient agriculture to protect themselves and their livelihoods against climate threats: they are mainly employed informally, carry the burden of domestic care and are less likely to hold land titles and have access to finance.   

Each locale is unique, but for climate adaptation efforts to be effective, the people most vulnerable to climate change — whether women, the elderly, youth or those living on marginal lands — must be involved in decision-making about their own futures. Top-down planning ignores both the risks facing vulnerable groups and the local knowledge and resources they bring to finding solutions.  

Putting inclusion at the heart of adaptation

Since 2022, the Step Change initiative — a partnership between IDRC and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs — has been working to build a strong community of actors to drive local adaptation. One of its core aims is to advance the integration of gender equality and social inclusion within climate action policies and practices, as solid evidence shows that people’s experience of climate change is shaped by their gender, status and other intersecting factors. 

Step Change’s research partners and knowledge brokers are not only helping to shape more inclusive climate action plans and practices; they are also demonstrating new ways to engage and involve marginalized communities and offering valuable lessons on what works. 

Amplifying women’s voices

In landlocked Burkina Faso, more than 80% of people rely on small-scale farming for food security and livelihoods. With increasingly erratic rains and other pressures on the country’s already stressed farm systems, farmers are adjusting their practices.  

Radio is one of the most effective ways to reach rural communities and empower them to share their own knowledge and experience. But women’s voices are too often missing. According to David Somda, a radio producer in Burkina Faso’s Ioba province, “Women weren't used to calling in to […] our programs. Although they listen […] a lot, they're afraid that their husbands will hear their voices on the radio.”  

Through a Step Change project aimed at informing more inclusive adaptation, Farm Radio International is working with local radio stations to ensure that women’s knowledge, needs and experiences feed into local programming. Using an interactive phone-based app called Uliza (which means “ask” in Swahili), radio partners are giving women and youth another way to join the conversation. First developed for audience polling, Uliza lets listeners contribute by cell phone. The views and questions they submit are compiled, analyzed and used to create content for follow-up episodes. As Somda pointed out, this draws a wider pool of knowledge into discussions on how to adapt:  

“When it comes to land issues and climate change… we realized that [women] had a lot of information. The platform has enabled us to get feedback and women's thoughts on climate change and our broadcasts.”

Making climate action policies and plans more inclusive

The Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), a key Step Change partner, works closely with adaptation planners and policymakers from local to global levels, helping them ground their decisions in a diverse range of perspectives. In Latin America, for example, CDKN’s regional lead, Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano, is helping the 10 members of the Andean Water Fund Platform — from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru — to be more inclusive in their work to protect water sources and channel adaptation funding to the local level. For the first time, three participating water funds recently undertook climate vulnerability assessments that address gender and social dimensions. 

In Ethiopia, CDKN’s Africa lead, SouthSouthNorth, has trained senior officials from across the national government to serve as inclusion champions. In partnership with the Ministry of Planning and Development, it facilitates a community of practice that connects 28 officials and stakeholders — in water, health, industry and the environment — helping them mainstream gender and social dimensions into national development. In convening the community of practice, CDKN helps to manage power dynamics and balance participants’ differing priorities and understandings. Twenty-five members of the community of practice, including 12 women and two youth representatives, have been trained as trainers of inclusive climate action, using Amharic-language gender and climate change training materials.  

In Nepal, CDKN’s regional lead, ICLEI South Asia, is helping municipal officials develop more inclusive local adaptation plans of action, which embed climate considerations into urban planning and budgeting. Too often, these decisions have been made without the participation of women and Dalits (lower-caste members). In Dhulikhel and Karjanha, ICLEI South Asia facilitated separate discussions with women and other marginalized groups in each ward to ensure their views and experiences were captured in the planning process. While many participants had little formal education, their insights are crucial to ensuring that adaptation plans reflect their needs. These findings were shared with municipal officials and have fed directly into the draft plan of action.  

Doing things differently

This work is demonstrating what it takes to foster more equitable and inclusive adaptation. Step Change partners have highlighted the need for organizations to build their own capacity to conduct gender and social analysis, and to address the many practical barriers that keep marginalized groups from participating. 

In 2025, CDKN convened 45 adaptation leaders to reflect on what works to support local adaptation in diverse African settings. One key takeaway was that too many organizations rely on outside experts to tell them how to approach gender and inclusion. CDKN’s partnership with the Ethiopian government — strengthening a community of internal experts to serve as mentors, champions and trainers for others — is just one example of how internal expertise can be built up for the long term. 

In Uganda, partners in a Step Change project that is drawing on local adaptation knowledge systems to build community resilience in agriculture have learned from experience that creating an inclusive space takes much more than good intentions. They now take deliberate steps to overcome hidden barriers that prevent women, youth, people with disabilities and other small-scale farmers from taking part in dialogue. They have learned, for example, that arranging travel and accommodation upfront is essential for participants with little money, and those with disabilities may need space at the table for a support companion.  

With a deep commitment to inclusive local adaptation and by building in ongoing reflection, Step Change partners are pioneering innovative ways to tackle marginalization — and sharing vital lessons for others to deepen their practice.