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Call for expressions of interest: Women’s economic empowerment in a low-carbon COVID-19 recovery

 
As developing countries plan for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic they need to invest in building climate-resilient and low-carbon economies. IDRC is launching a call for expressions of interest for research to help promote gender equality through new economic opportunities and green jobs.
Two women from India are building round solar panels.
ILO

Patricia Fuller, Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change, announced the call on March 16, 2021,  at the Canada-Africa Clean Growth Symposium.

This open competitive call represents an IDRC investment of CA$10 million. It aims to support solutions-oriented, local research and evidence to help understand and address the specific and systemic barriers women face during the pandemic and the recovery period, particularly when accessing opportunities in new low-carbon economic investments.

The research will address new gender barriers that have arisen during the pandemic, the continued disproportionate burden of unpaid care work on women, gendered social norms, and ways to support and scale women-led initiatives promoting a sustainable recovery.

The call targets organizations based in low- and lower-middle-income countries in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, South and South-East Asia, and the Middle East.

Through this support, IDRC will generate knowledge on policy responses, interventions, business and investment initiatives, and women-led action that can:

  • support women’s economic empowerment and decent employment opportunities in COVID-19 responses and recovery, while addressing the growing climate crisis and creating a pathway for a climate resilient economy.
  • promote women’s opportunities in sectors that have the highest potential to accelerate the transition towards a low-carbon economy, such as energy, transport, infrastructure, tourism, agriculture, and natural resource conservation.
  • promote cross-border trade, value chains, and innovative private sector models that create quality opportunities for women while contributing to decarbonization and climate resilience.

For more information, and to apply, please go to this call’s funding page.