London Climate Action Week began with The Carbon Portfolio Gap: The Role of Gender in the Voluntary Carbon Market, hosted by Abatable in partnership with Women in Carbon. The discussion brought together leaders from across investment, project development, and the voluntary carbon market to explore why gender remains under-represented in assessments of project quality and investment risk.
Representing WOCAN and the W+ Standard, Jeannette Gurung introduced the W+ Standard and highlighted its role in enabling projects to measure and verify women’s empowerment outcomes alongside climate impacts. Sheena Patel (VNV – Value Network Ventures/WOCAN) built on this by sharing practical insights into how project developers can integrate the W+ Standard into project design and implementation, demonstrating how robust gender-responsive metrics can strengthen project credibility while delivering measurable benefits for women and communities.
The discussion challenged the perception of gender as a social “add-on” and instead positioned women’s inclusion as a critical indicator of project resilience, governance, and long-term performance. A key takeaway was that stronger standards, better data, and verified gender outcomes are essential to helping investors and buyers recognize gender as a marker of project quality and portfolio resilience, rather than simply a co-benefit.
The energy in the room made it clear that this conversation is far from over. We’re already working on what’s next and look forward to sharing more with you soon.