African Women in Agricultural Research for Development (AWARD) has partnered with the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Sustainable Intensification and the United Nations Foundation toward an Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate  Innovation Sprint.

Accelerating African Women’s Leadership in Climate Action is an initiative that seeks to improve the numbers and experiences of women leading equitable climate solutions.

This Innovation Sprint will leverage AWARD’s ongoing work on plugging the leaky pipeline of women in AR4D, including its Gender Responsive Agriculture Systems Policy (GRASP) Fellowship and its work on building a pipeline of African scientists leading climate change research in Africa through the One Planet Fellowship.

Announced during the Gender Day at COP28 alongside other commitments in the Biden-Harris administration addressing gender equality in climate resilience, this Innovation Sprint will promote women’s leadership in climate issues.

Together with its partners under this Innovation Sprint, AWARD is working to:

• Build a pool of capable, confident women leading climate change research.
• Build a pool of African women to lead policy changes to improve African smallholders’ livelihoods, particularly women.
• Enhance awareness of the status of the gender gap in climate science.
• Increase the visibility of African women leading climate solutions.

“Women are uniquely positioned to contribute to climate solutions. Their leadership and participation in adaptation and mitigation can translate into greater economic empowerment and decision-making power and contribute to more climate-resilient communities”.

Dr. Susan Kaaria, Director AWARD

We invite you to read the United States Department of State press release on Advancing Women’s Participation in Climate Efforts that spotlights AWARD’s contribution to the consortium of organizations working towards the collective initiative.

Watch this video of Dr. Susan Kaaria, Director, AWARD, outlining what this Innovation Sprint on Accelerating Women’s Leadership in Climate Action seeks to achieve.

The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) is a joint initiative by the United States and the United Arab Emirates. AIM for Climate seeks to address climate change and global hunger by uniting participants to increase investment significantly and provide other support for climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation over five years (2021 – 2025).