Gender equality is not only a human right; it’s imperative for achieving sustainable development.

Growing evidence shows the link between gender equality and enhanced environmental outcomes. Closing the gaps between men and women when it comes to accessing resources and participating in decision-making processes could help spur economic growth while achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

At the same time, few environmental policies and projects take gender-related issues into account. Women are still not systematically and comprehensively engaged in natural resource management and decision-making.

WRI’s Gender Initiative aims to make gender equity a standard practice in environment and sustainable development initiatives. We work with programs and centers across the institute to ensure our environmental projects are responsive to gender and social issues.

We work with WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities to ensure that public transport systems take women’s safety concerns into account. We work to spread fundamental democratic principles throughout the world by integrating gender throughout the work of our Governance Center of Excellence. And we strive to promote gender equality throughout the development community by ensuring gender balance in public events. We have developed a set of recommendations for our staff and others to inspire and guide this change.