On November 6, Jeannette spoke at the Climate Investment Fund (CIF) Gender Panel on ‘Innovations in Engendering Climate Finance.’ This event was part of the CIF Partnership Forum held in Istanbul Turkey from Oct 31-Nov 8, 2012.Lucy Wanjiru, Program Specialist, Gender and Environment, UN Development Programme (UNDP); moderated the panel, which brought together the following panelists:
- Lorena Aguilar, Global Senior Gender Advisor IUCN presented findings from the CIF Gender Assessment, which IUCN conducted in advance of the Istanbul CIF meetings.
- François Rogers, Special Advisor to Gender Office, IUCN
- Yvonne Ochoa Rosellini, CEO, Fundación Hogares
- Nathalie Eddy, Coordinator, Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA)
- Jeanette Gurung, Executive Director, Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource (WOCAN)
- Tracy Cull, Director, Kulima Integrated Development Solutions
- Michelle Kaminsky, Canadian International Development Agency, Canada
Addressing the question of why gender rarely comes up in discussions of climate change mitigation, Jeannette stated that when women are identified as a vulnerable group, they are framed as a ‘charity’ case, making them unlikely partners of private and public sector investments. She emphasized that we as gender advocates need to be aware of how our language and messages are interpreted by others; women need to be presented as innovators and entrepreneurs. Jeannette mentioned that she takes inspiration from the indigenous group who went from relative position of weakness to great strength. She learned from the members of the indigenous group that it is important to identify ourselves not just as stakeholders but as ‘rights-holders’. Jeanette also highlighted the strategy to present the women’s case to the private sector is not as a giveaway or charity but as a good business practice to include their large group of underserved clients, entrepreneurs and innovators.