An innovative monitoring tool that assesses how effectively national climate policies address gender inequalities
Women and girls are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis and are also driving solutions, building resilience, and leading change. Yet when climate policies overlook them, the crisis deepens.
The Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard tracks how effectively countries are responding to the gendered impacts of climate change while promoting women’s participation and leadership in climate action. It assesses the latest round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) for their gender responsiveness and features an online repository of NDC gender commitments to action, showcasing promising and innovative policy examples to inspire learning, replication, and scale-up across countries and regions.
To track progress on gender-responsive climate action, the Scorecard is composed of 50 indicators across six gender dimensions.
The Scorecard has been developed by UN Women and the Kaschak Institute for Social Justice for Women and Girls at Binghamton University.
Read about the Scorecard’s methodology.
What are the Scorecard’s six dimensions of gender-responsive climate action?
Economic security
By 2050, 158 million more women could be pushed into extreme poverty.
Unpaid care work
2.3 billion people live in water-stressed countries. Women are responsible for water collection in 80% of households.
Gender-based violence
Living in arid areas is associated with rates of child marriage up to 32 percentage points higher than in humid areas.
Health
During heatwaves, the likelihood of preterm birth rises by about 26%.
Participation and leadership
In 2024 women comprised just 24% of heads of delegation at COP29.
Gender mainstreaming
118 countries have designated national gender and climate change focal points.
How are countries integrating gender equality into climate policies?
Results from a 2025 global survey to National Gender and Climate Change Focal Points under the UNFCCC highlight that:
- 45% of countries incorporated their national gender equality machinery within existing national climate change coordination mechanisms
- 54% of countries report engaging women’s civil society organizations in preparatory NDCs consultations
- At least 34 countries have a dedicated national gender and climate action plan or strategy
So, are these efforts translating into more gender-responsive NDCs?
The first map on the gender-responsiveness of the NDCs offers an overview of how countries are addressing the gendered impacts of climate change and elevating women’s voices in climate action. It currently features 32 NDCs submitted up to 8 September 2025, with at least 40 additional NDCs under review to be included in the next update.
The second map highlights the gender and climate policy enablers that countries are putting in place to translate gender commitments in their NDCs into action.