GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN CLIMATE CHANGE GOVERNANCE: EQUITY,INCLUSION, AND RESILIENCE FOR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES
This paper examines how gender mainstreaming applies to climate change governance, withparticular emphasis on how frameworks of social justice, diversity, and sustainability canstrengthen outcomes for vulnerable groups, especially women and youth. As global environmentalchange intensifies, the need to diversify forecasting and decision-making processes growscorrespondingly urgent; it is therefore essential that governance frameworks and policyinstruments incorporate multiple visions rather than relying on a single dominant perspective.This study explores how gender relations play out within climate institutions and systems, and howthese relations intersect with climate risk exposure, adaptive response, and environmental equitymore broadly. To illustrate gender-inclusive practice in climate governance, the paper draws oncase studies from different regions of the world, evaluating the legislative and policy measuresthat advance gender equality while also strengthening community resilience. The analysis paysparticular attention to the extension of gender quotas into climate adaptation programming as amechanism for including women and other historically excluded populations in decision-making.Drawing on a synthesis of literature, theoretical analysis, and empirical evidence, the study arguesthat a gender perspective is not peripheral but foundational to effective climate action. It calls forgovernance structures, organizations, and processes that deliberately acknowledge the concernsand contributions of populations that have historically been dismissed or disadvantaged. Thefindings indicate that equitable governance not only advances fairness within affectedcommunities but also produces measurably enhanced adaptive capacity when those communitiesconfront climate disruption.