Financial Independence Is Climate Resilience: Rethinking Sustainability Through a Gender Lens

In the face of an escalating climate crisis, sustainability is often framed in terms of carbon metrics, biodiversity indices, and technological innovation. But for millions of women across the low and lower-income countries, sustainability begins with something more intimate and urgent: financial independence. At Greenseed, we believe that economic independence isn’t a privilege - it’s a right - and it’s also a climate adaptation strategy.

When Women Lead, Ecosystems Thrive

Across continents, women are at the forefront of agroecology, permaculture, and regenerative farming. In Kenya and Senegal, a report by FAO and Biovision documented how women-led agroecological practices such as intercropping, composting, and seed saving, enhanced soil fertility, reduced input costs, and built climate-resilient food systems. In India, rural women have regenerated degraded landscapes through collective land stewardship and organic cultivation, as  One Earth’s profile of women-led climate farming shows.

These stories are not exceptions - they are blueprints.

Financial Independence as Climate Strategy

Financial independence enables women to:

• Invest in sustainable practices without relying on extractive or short-term solutions.

• Negotiate land rights and access to water, seeds, and markets.

• Build resilience against climate shocks through diversified income and savings.

According to UN Women’s EmPower programme brief, women’s access to finance, renewable energy, and decision-making platforms significantly strengthens their ability to recover from climate shocks and lead sustainable solutions. From 2018 to 2022, the programme supported women in Asia and the Pacific to develop climate-resilient livelihoods, reduce emissions, and scale inclusive energy systems - demonstrating how gender-responsive investments can drive both resilience and equity.

Barriers: The Unseen Costs of Exclusion

Despite their contributions, women face systemic barriers that undermine both their economic agency and environmental impact:

• Gender-Based Violence (GBV): Climate change intensifies GBV by increasing resource scarcity and displacement. As highlighted by Women’s Earth Alliance, survivors often lack safe access to land, credit, or training. Greenseed’s WePhili project in the Philippines has begun addressing this intersection through targeted GBV training, laying the groundwork for future programming that links social support with environmental resilience.

• Unpaid Labour: Women perform the majority of unpaid care and agricultural labour, limiting time for income-generating or leadership activities.

• Credit Access: According to FAO’s report on women’s financial inclusion, women remain significantly underserved by agricultural credit systems, despite being central to agrifood production. The report calls for alternative collateral models to close this gap and unlock women’s economic potential.

These barriers are not just social; they are ecological. When women are excluded from financial systems, entire communities lose out on sustainable solutions.

Solutions: Building Feminist Climate Finance

To unlock the full potential of women-led sustainability, we must reimagine finance itself. Here’s how:

1. Gender-Responsive Budgeting

Governments and donors must allocate funds based on gendered needs and impacts. This includes:

• Funding women’s cooperatives and climate-smart enterprises.

• Supporting GBV survivors with economic reintegration programs.

• Ensuring women’s participation in budget planning and monitoring.

According to UNEP’s Gender and Climate Action framework, climate policies and programs must integrate the concerns and experiences of both women and men, ensuring that inequality is not perpetuated and that benefits are shared equitably.

2. Flexible Funding Models

Rigid grant structures often exclude informal or grassroots women’s groups. Instead, funders should:

• Offer microgrants and revolving funds.

• Reduce bureaucratic barriers to entry.

• Recognize non-monetary contributions like caregiving and community organizing.

In El Salvador, GlobalGiving documents how women-led farming collectives use community finance to invest in agroecology and disaster preparedness.

3. Community-Based Finance

Local savings groups, rotating credit associations, and cooperative banks have proven effective in building resilience. In Bangladesh, the CREA initiative links women’s empowerment with climate adaptation through localized financial tools.

A Shared Future, Rooted in Equity

Financial independence is not just about income - it’s about dignity, decision-making, and ecological stewardship. When women control resources, they invest in futures that are regenerative, inclusive, and resilient. At Greenseed, we see this every day - in the hands that plant ancestral seeds, in the voices that shape policy, and in the communities that rise together.