Women and girls in developing countries are particularly affected by the impact of climate change and environmental degradation, such as ecosystem loss, loss of access to key natural resources, malnutrition and respiratory, water-related and vector-borne diseases.

As primary users and managers of natural resources, women play an essential role for climate change mitigation and adaptation and environmental protection. However, they are prevented from participating equally in related governance processes for multiple reasons, including harmful gender norms, inadequate legal frameworks, low access to education and land ownership.

Women activists all over the world are championing environmental rights and young women are taking the lead to advocate for change.

The EU is determined to act on the gender dimension of environmental degradation and climate change also with regard to fragile situations, and mindful of the specific needs and roles of indigenous women directly relying on natural resources, notably promoting girls’ and women’s participation and leadership in order to ensure gender-responsive strategies to climate mitigation and adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and the inclusive and sustainable management of natural resources.

Promoting women’s equal access to the untapped potential of digital technologies is central to the EU’s digital strategy and to sustainable growth.

Digital technologies and solutions can accelerate progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment in areas such as education, employment and entrepreneurship and preventing and combating gender-based violence. They can help women cope with emergencies, as demonstrated in the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigating the social and economic consequence and building resilience. E-services, such as digital finance can create opportunities for women economic empowerment by improving their access to and usage of financial services.

Women located in rural or remote areas experience a triple (digital, gender and rural) discrimination, facing huge barriers in access and use of digital technologies, due to unaffordability, low digital literacy and social norms. Moreover, digitalisation also brings new risks and challenges for gender equality related, for instance, to possible gender biases through Artificial Intelligence or to an increase of gender-based violence.

The EU will continue to address the structural barriers that underpin the digital gender divide and support an inclusive and fair digital transformation. This includes promoting a gender-responsive participatory approach in development policies, projects and programmes that support partner countries’ digital transformation.