We are constantly reminded of the urgent need to tackle environmental challenges through concrete actions. Extreme weather, environmental degradation, and shifting economic conditions all highlight the importance of incorporating women’s perspectives into development. The Inter-American Development Bank´s Action Plan recognizes that unequal access to resources worsen vulnerability to environmental issues and women’s leadership strengthens results on the ground.

Although women face disadvantages due to socio-economic conditions, unequal access to resources, and traditional roles, they remain key contributors to community-level efforts that strengthen environmental resilience. Over the last decades, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has worked with women through Latin America and the Caribbean, showing how their contributions enhance development and make a significant difference in development.

Why Environmental Stress Hits Women Differently?

Such a complex question cannot have a simple answer. Several interconnected factors shape how women are affected:

Poverty and Economic Dependence: Women represent a large share of the population living in poverty and are deeply affected when land, water, and agriculture are disrupted.

Limited Participation in Decision-Making: Women often lack access to decision-making spaces that shape local services and planning. When policies overlook  these gaps, it reduces communities’ ability to prepare for and recover from shocks.

Increased Workload and Risk: When shocks hit, women often shoulder greater household and community responsibilities—from caregiving to community support—while also risks of increased sexual abuse, physical violence, and mental trauma.

Women: The Protagonists of Change

Despite these challenges, women are at the forefront of building a sustainable future. Their leadership and participation are essential to designing solutions that address environmental challenges while driving inclusive development. Across sectors—from infrastructure and energy to agriculture and biodiversity, women are transforming communities, fostering resilience, and ensuring that action translates into economic and social opportunities for all. Here are some examples of our work at the IDB:

1.    Inclusive Infrastructure and Local Investment

The IDB supports investments that improve daily life while expanding opportunities for women.  These projects link inclusive design with better services, safer communities, and economic participation.

• Clean stoves pilots for 80 families have educed women’s cooking time by 71 hours per month, allowing 35% of that time to be reinvested in income-generating activities.
• An energy project promotes women’s participation in the sector through inclusive selection, training, and employment.
• The Urban Mobility Program is replacing traditional buses with electric and hybrid ones while offering incentives for companies to hire women drivers.
• The ProMorar program strengthens infrastructure in flood-prone areas and trains women community agents in disaster risk management.
• A new initiative integrates equity into resilience efforts, including protocols to prevent violence against women and environmental education for women and traditional communities.

2.    Resilient Livelihoods in Agriculture

Across the productive sectors, especially agriculture, the IDB works with women and marginalized communities to strengthen resilience and promote sustainable livelihoods:

• A rural development program prioritizes women’s cooperatives, allocating at least 30% of technical assistance resources to areas most affected by environmental change.
• Another project supports business plans led by women and other groups, ensuring that 50% of the financing benefits women’s associations and cooperatives.

3.    Amazon Forever: Women Leading the Bioeconomy

Under the Amazonia Forever initiative, the IDB supports women-led businesses that promote biodiversity conservation, a vital strategy for resilience.

• Women entrepreneurs receive training in financial, entrepreneurial, and soft skills, along with guidance on sustainable resource use and ecosystem restoration.
• Several projects focus on the production and marketing of local non-timber forest products, such as ají charapita, castaña, and camu camu, which are vital to Indigenous Peoples like the Urarina, Bora, Ticuna, and Kichwa.
• IDB collaborates with 12 Indigenous women-led community tourism companies, offering training and technical assistance to support their sustainable growth.
• Value chains for non-timber forest products are being strengthened, while Indigenous women are taking leading roles in conservation, restoration, and anti-deforestation efforts.

When Women Lead, Communities are stronger

These initiatives show that stronger development outcomes come when women and communities are fully included. When women and marginalized groups are part of the decision-making process, communities gain resilience, innovation flourishes, and sustainable growth becomes possible.