Accelerating African Women’s Leadership in Climate Action is a career development fellowship that aims to increase both the number of African women leading climate action and the development of climate solutions designed to address the needs of women and men smallholders.

Women remain a minority among those making high-level decisions in environmental policy fields, holding only 15 per cent of 712 environmental sector minister positions as of 2020. At the same time, gender inequalities in access to resources, opportunities, and decision-making power at the farm level typically leave women smallholders especially vulnerable to climate change with fewer tools at their disposal for adaptation.

The new fellowship, managed by African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), is open to women climate change professionals in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Senegal, some of the countries most impacted by climate change yet most dependent on small-scale agriculture.

The Fellowship will foster production and transfer of context-specific knowledge on climate adaptation technologies to different stakeholders including smallholders, extension workers and policymakers.

Objective:

• Strengthen the leadership, mentoring and negotiation skills of African women climate change professionals.
• Enhance the capabilities of African women and men climate change professionals to incorporate gender in their research and practice.
• Amplify the voices and increase visibility of African women climate change professionals in global and regional climate change dialogues.

How to Apply:

Detailed guidelines and the submission form can be accessed HERE. 

Timeline

• Call for Applications open: July 10, 2024
• Call for Applications close: September 10, 2024
• Selected Participants notified: November 2024
• Inaugural Cohort begins: November 2024