Back to news

International Women’s Day 2014

International Women’s Day (IWD) has over the years become a landmark event in the annual activity calendar of ICIMOD. The Gender Resource Team (GReaT team), a dedicated team of gender champions from different streams within ICIMOD, and the gender team work together to plan the day and make it a memorable event. The commemoration of IWD in ICIMOD is not just a day of acknowledging and applauding the immense contribution of the women staff members but a rallying point to build support for women’s rights and meaningful participation within the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region. It is a day to collectively reflect on the challenges that women face and discuss the potential opportunities that await women.

David James Molden

4 mins Read

70% Complete

The impacts of multiple drivers of change such as climate change, globalization, land use change, economic liberalization, migration, etc. have over the years become major development challenges particularly in developing and least developed countries of the HKH region. These changes have directly affected the natural resource base and threatened the livelihoods of those directly or indirectly dependent on these natural resources. Women have been recognized as one of the most vulnerable groups from impact of climate and other changes due to their socially constructed roles and responsibilities and relatively poor economic and political positions.

ICIMOD recognizes that to achieve the mission of sustainable mountain development it is essential to ensure full and equitable participation of mountain women to manage these changes so they can maximize benefits and minimize risks to them and to the environment. In keeping with its commitment to promote gender equality, ICIMOD has through its various programs initiated series of activities that are directed to bringing women at the center of development.

Through the Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalayas (Himalica) initiative, we are committed to promoting value chains of high value products and services with equitable engagement of women and measurable increase in the income for them. We are also actively involving women at village level to prepare micro plans for climate change adaptation and natural resource management. Under the Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP), we are developing gender profiles for communities in the four river basins (Upper Indus, Koshi, Eastern Brahmaputra, and Salween-Mekong) and scoping out the impact of climate change on women’s livelihood and identifying successful adaptive practices.

Under the Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI) we are initiating leadership development training for women at community level to enhance their capacity to take lead in conservation and development of their landscapes as well as at the partner institution level in order to support women leadership at the ground level. We are also piloting a unique methodology for valuation of cultural and spiritual services sustained by women in the Kailash Sacred Landscape in the context of outmigration of men.

The Atmosphere initiative is introducing gender responsive mitigation options in sectors such as improved cook stoves and brick kilns, to counter the health hazards faced by women and children. Based on the findings of the pilots, it will make strong policy recommendations.

There are increasing evidences from the field that women are disproportionately vulnerable to floods due to their gender roles and associated social and institutional constraints. Under HYCOS Initiative, three studies on flood Early Warning Systems with a strong gender perspective were carried out in Bhutan, Nepal, and Pakistan. These studies highlight the importance of involving women in disaster preparedness and to develop their capacities to receive and respond to Early Warning Systems. The next step would be to incorporate these findings to make the EWS more efficient and effective across the region. These are just some of the examples from our ongoing work.

ICIMOD also recognizes that change begins at home. While ICIMOD continues to strengthen its gender integration in programmatic work across the region, it has also given special attention to strengthening the Gender focused institutional processes and activities. The Gender Equity Policy (GEP) has been approved by the Board of Governors of ICIMOD and is now in full force. It is expected to guide the overall development interventions, including in the policies and programmes, in capacity building and in knowledge management in order to promote a people centered and gender equitable development.

Research shows that women in leadership positions can enhance organizational performance in measurable, quantifiable ways. To tap the potential of women scientists and professionals for increasing institutional performance and increase women’s inclusion in decision-making and management positions, we are developing a Women’s Leadership and Management Training Course for women staff and women scientists in the region. The course will be implemented in phases within ICIMOD beginning 2014 and will slowly phase out to include our partners.

To ensure that our staff is aware of implicit and explicit gender relations at workplace and have enough understanding of the GEP and to work towards creating gender sensitive and enabling work environment, a gender sensitivity training for all will be started in 2014. Last but not the least, we have launched a web-based mega database of gender experts and women scientists and professionals around the world working in the mountain areas. We hope that this will improve participation of women professionals and gender experts in all our national and regional workshops and help bring in strong gender perspectives.

ICIMOD firmly believes that equality for women is progress for all and takes its commitment to advancing gender equality very seriously and will strengthen efforts to promote women’s empowerment and to ensure equitable access to resources, rights, and opportunities.

With best wishes for a happy International Women’s Day,

David Molden

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related content

Continue exploring this topic

Passing the baton

As the tenure of Director General of ICIMOD shifts from one set of hands to another, we have written this ...

Devastating floods in Uttarakhand

Across the globe, so many people have seen visuals of or heard about the flooding event which occurred in Uttarakhand, ...

International Women’s Day 2012

This year ICIMOD’s celebration has the theme ‘Celebrating and Inspiring Futures of Mountain Women’. While it is important to celebrate ...

From implementation to impact

The Strategy and Results Framework of 2012 provided direction for ICIMOD, with impact and integration delivered through a set of ...

8 Mar 2024 IWD
为什么在气候变化和逆转兴都库什-喜马拉雅地区生物多样性损失方面,投资于女性对于其加速进展至关重要,以及ICIMOD正在采取什么措施

Read in english 显而易见的是,无论从事何种工作,未能克服性别不公不仅在道德上是错误的,而且对行为底线有害。 在我们迫切需要取得进展的领域,以及国际山地综合发展中心(ICIMOD)所涉及的领域,投资于女性尤为关键,包括发展、科学、气候和自然等方面。 根据世界经济论坛发布的最新研究,仅在印度,性别平等就能为国内生产总值增加7700亿美元;而在孟加拉国,这一数字将达到300亿美元。 尽管存在如此明确的经济激励,但兴都库什-喜马拉雅地区的八个国家仍然面临巨大挑战。 在ICIMOD,我们将性别平等作为2030年战略的核心组成部分,全力改变这一状况,并为国家、社区和自然环境带来回报。 在我们的运营中,我们正在充分利用我们的平台,与妇女团体、青年和原住民关系网络建立更紧密的合作关系;我们承诺通过专家团队和活动来鼓励她们发声,并为她们的职业发展和公共演讲提供支持,同时监测和解决性别不平衡的问题。 我们也致力于在招聘、晋升和行政职能方面推动公平,特别关注增强各个员工层面的性别和多样性代表性,尤其是在决策、专业和领导职位上。 性别问题现已贯穿在我们的各类项目中,每个战略小组内都设有相关专家和分析师。 目前,我们的创业工作优先考虑为由女性或主要雇佣女性以及边缘社会群体的企业提供技术支持和财务资源。 此外,考虑到地方政府和国家政府对于制定自然资源管理(NRM)计划的至关重要性,ICIMOD已经举办了培训,以支持制定能够充分利用妇女见解、技能和专业知识的NRM行动计划。 身处同一地区,我们需要更进一步。 研究表明,女性-包括妇女和女孩-首当其冲受到气候危机的影响。气候危机导致流离失所的受害者中有80%是女性。 从2025年开始,每年预计有1200万女孩受气候危机影响,无法完成学业。到2050年,将有多达1.58亿女性陷入贫困,其中2.36亿女性面临更加严重的粮食不安全状况。 这种性别不平等是由于长期存在的资金流动严重不足,以及政策针对性不够所导致的。 在国际性资金支持中,仅有0.01%用于应对气候变化和促进妇女权利的项目。 全球范围内,只要不到2%的国家气候战略考虑到了妇女和女孩的不同处境和需求。 也许,考虑到女性在决策过程中的代表性不足,这并不足为奇。 在 COP27 上,只有 6% 的世界领导人是女性,这一比例在 COP28 上上升了 10% 以上。直到今年早些时候出现强烈反对之后,今年的 COP 主席才在此前全员男性的组织委员会中增加了 ...

World Wetlands Day 2010

This year, 2010, we are celebrating World Wetlands Day with the special theme: ‘Wetlands, Climate Change and Biodiversity’ and the ...

Opinion: The Hindu Kush Himalayas need institutions for better cooperation

Himalayan countries can look to the Arctic Council, Alpine Convention and the Carpathian Convention to build multilateral cooperation mechanisms, advises ...

30 Mar 2020 Climate change
Celebrating World Water Day 2020: Water and climate change

Rivers have been the life force of civilizations from time immemorial. The Indus Valley, Ganges, and Mesopotamia civilizations all emerged ...