STEP BY STEP GUIDANCE: Gender-lens investing in climate and disaster risk financing and insurance (CDRFI) solutions

Gender-smart public and private investments and grants in Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI) hold significant potential to strengthen the resilience of developing countries and to protect the lives and livelihoods of poor and vulnerable women and men, and their families from the impact of disasters. This guidance note specifically focuses on the deployment of development finance with a gender lens in CDRFI-related investment and grant making opportunities to fill an existing gap in practical resources on this topic. It is intended for Members of the InsuResilience Global Partnership (IGP) and the broader CDRFI community that are involved in the financing (public and private investing and grant making), design and implementation of gender-smart CDRFI solutions.

This Guidance Note sets out a series of questions on how investment funds and CDRFI programmes can integrate gender considerations (‘apply a gender lens’) through their grant making and investment decisions. These questions are structured around different entry points for gender-lens investing: in the investment policy, strategies and action plans that intentionally incorporate a gender focus in the allocation of capital; in the investment and grant making process; and also, internally within the investment or grant making entity, in terms of the gender diversity of its own workforce and its organizational policies and practices to promote gender equality. (figure 2) This publication provides case study examples of different organizations that have applied gender considerations in investing and grant making in CDRFI solutions, and more broadly in climate finance, from within and beyond the IGP. (figure 3) Additionally, this guidance references relevant IGP and third-party resources including from the 2X Climate Finance Taskforce, GenderSmart Gender & Climate Investment Working Group, Equilo, SEAF, Value for Women, UNICEF and Criterion Institute among others. These resources can support Members, programmes under the Partnership and others address potential challenges and opportunities to further enhance their gender-smart investments and grant making into CDRFI solutions.