The GEF Women and Gender Caucus is a self-organised coalition of women constituencies across the Conventions served by the Global Environment Facility, alongside women’s networks, grassroots organisations, feminist groups and gender equality advocates engaging across the GEF architecture.
The Caucus works to advance gender-just, rights-based, transparent and accountable environmental finance systems across all GEF-related Funds, programmes and processes. It works in close collaboration with the GEF Gender Partnership.
The Caucus seeks to strengthen collective engagement, exchange, advocacy and coordination across conventions, regions and environmental finance processes. Its work focuses on advancing environmental finance systems that are equitable, transparent, accountable and capable of supporting long-term environmental and social transformation.
8 GEF Assembly
The GEF Women and Gender Caucus is actively participating in the 8th GEF Assembly through collective advocacy, strategic engagement in official processes and co-hosted events focused on environmental finance governance, gender justice and rights-based approaches.
GEF WGC’ priorities for GEF-9 and all GEF Funds
The Caucus has collectively developed a set of policy priorities and recommendations addressing direct and equitable access to environmental finance, governance and representation within environmental finance systems, transparency and accountability, long-term evaluation systems, gender-responsive programming and transformative environmental finance.
Check them here
SIDE EVENT – Financing Gender Action Plans: From Commitments to Implementation
This official side event at the 8th GEF Assembly will explore how GEF financing can move Gender Action Plans from global commitments to concrete implementation across environmental conventions and national processes.
Bringing together representatives from conventions, governments, GEF Agencies and civil society, the discussion will focus on strengthening coherence between gender mandates, environmental finance and locally led action.
The session will also examine opportunities under GEF-9 to advance more accountable, inclusive and gender-responsive environmental finance systems.
REGISTER FOR ZOOM BROADCAST: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/WdvsQ2R-Sf22bxka1Snwuw
SIDE EVENT – Strengthening Inclusive Biodiversity Finance: Early Lessons from the GBFF
This official side event at the 8th GEF Assembly will explore early lessons emerging from the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), with a focus on inclusive, equitable and rights-based biodiversity finance.
Bringing together GBFF observers, Council members, Implementing Agencies, the GEF Secretariat and civil society representatives, the discussion will examine how existing commitments related to women, youth, Indigenous Peoples and local communities can be effectively operationalised in practice.
The session will also reflect on barriers related to participation, transparency, accountability and access to resources, while identifying opportunities to strengthen locally led biodiversity action and the long-term effectiveness of GBFF investments.
REGISTER FOR ZOOM BROADCAST: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/pCh6fXwhT46EbyEV9_CWMA
The Caucus is actively participating throughout the 8th GEF Assembly, including within official Assembly roundtables, the Civil Society Organisation Forum and the Civil Society Hub, while also contributing to strategic dialogues, learning sessions and advocacy processes. Beyond outreach and visibility, these collective spaces are also envisioned as environments for networking, exchange, strategic conversations and collective care during intensive Assembly processes.
7 GEF Assembly
The current work of the GEF Women and Gender Caucus builds upon collective advocacy and engagement carried out during the 7th GEF Assembly and related processes.
At the previous Assembly, women’s constituencies, feminist organisations and gender advocates worked collectively to strengthen visibility and political engagement around gender justice and environmental finance governance across GEF-related processes.
Collective contributions included the development of a Women and Gender policy booklet containing advocacy messages and recommendations related to environmental finance, gender equality and rights-based approaches, as well as the organisation and co-hosting of side events focused on environmental governance, women’s environmental leadership and transformative approaches to environmental action.
A dedicated Women and Gender Hub was also established as a collective coordination, networking and exchange space throughout the Assembly. Additional engagement included participation in press conferences, media outreach, consultations and strategic coordination processes across official and informal Assembly spaces.
These experiences helped demonstrate both the importance and the continued need for stronger, more structured and sustained engagement of women’s constituencies and gender equality advocates within environmental finance governance systems.
The current phase of the GEF Women and Gender Caucus seeks to build upon those experiences while expanding cross-convention coordination, strengthening collective advocacy and deepening engagement on environmental finance transparency, accountability, governance and transformative implementation.
GEF WGC’ priorities for 7 GEF Assembly
This publication presents the policy demands and recommendations of the Women and Gender Caucus for the 7th GEF Assembly, calling for environmental governance and finance systems grounded in human rights, social justice, and gender-responsive implementation. It highlights the central role of women’s knowledge, leadership, and collective action in advancing long-term environmental transformation.
Check them here
Do you want to join?
This initial mapping aims to identify women’s organisations, feminist networks, gender equality advocates and practitioners with direct experience engaging with GEF-funded projects and processes.
This includes experience as project beneficiaries, implementing partners, technical experts, government representatives, community leaders, consultants, researchers or advocates engaging with the Conventions and Funds served by the GEF.
The purpose of this mapping is to better understand existing expertise, regional engagement and ongoing experiences across environmental finance spaces, while helping strengthen informed participation and longer-term coordination in upcoming GEF-related processes and initiatives.
Completing this form does not imply any commitment. It is simply an expression of interest at this initial stage. Broader participation and additional engagement opportunities will be opened in subsequent phases.