Unlocking the Full Potential of Girls and Women: Supercharging Gender Equality in Conservation

In honor of International Women’s Day and in an effort to narrow the gender inequality gap, NRT hosted the 2023 Women Leadership Summit—the third of its kind, bringing together more than 300 women and amplifying their voices in conservation.

Due to cultural practices, a patriarchal setup, the climate crisis, and a lack of proper gender representation, among other factors, women’s inclusion has long been an overlooked aspect of development in northern and coastal Kenya. Thanks to the community conservancy model, women now have more chances than ever to assume leadership positions and have a say in decisions affecting rangeland management, conservancy governance, natural resource management and community development.

NRT established a gender structure in each of its five regions: Coast, Mountain, Centre, West, and East, creating operational structures known as caucuses, to effectively promote women’s views and representations in programs.

“Our main goal is to empower and mentor young girls and emerging women leaders in conservation, and promote education, diversity in leadership, and gender equality in community conservation,” explains Beatrice Lempaira, NRT’s Gender Director.

During the 2023 Women Leadership Summit, women from all 43 NRT member community conservancies recounted their leadership struggles and victories, providing a vivid picture of the need to remove the barriers that women confront through capacity building, economic empowerment, and mentoring. The Summit sought to promote gender diversity in leadership, identify and support aspiring female leaders, boost women’s participation in conservation and community development, and broaden their knowledge of gender equity in community conservation.

To wrap up the event, the women joined the rest of the world in commemorating International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, celebrating their conservation achievements. In line with this year’s theme, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,” the ways in which women at NRT and NRT member community conservancies have embraced technology to protect wildlife, build peace, secure financial information, protect their privacy (for better decision-making and planning), and amplify their voices were highlighted.

Across the NRT landscape, with the support of NRT and our partners, women are driving community development, breaking down social barriers, and creating safe spaces for themselves and young girls to thrive.

The Summit was also supported by Conservation International, the European Union (EU) RangER, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), and the Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi, through the Integrated Management of Natural Resources for Resilience in Arid and Semi-Arid Counties (IMARA) Program.

Exactly how are technology and innovation supporting women in conservation in their daily work and improving their livelihoods? Watch this video to find out!