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IntroductionWith the rapid increase in climate shocks and hazards, policies governing climate change have proliferated while the integration of gender considerations to address gender-differentiated needs and impacts has remained a challenge. Stakeholder engagement is touted as a critical ingredient in climate change decisions and governance at different levels to achieve equitable outcomes. However, effective methods and outcomes of gender-responsive stakeholder engagement processes for climate change policy development are rarely published.MethodsWe apply the framework of 10 principles for effective agricultural research for development programs to analyze the stakeholder engagement processes in the context of the CGIAR's Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security gender and climate change policy projects. We analyze both primary and secondary data to understand the categories of stakeholders engaged, methods of engagement, the outcomes and lessons learned across five regions.Results and discussionOur results show that analysis of the existing policies and programs is a very critical entry point for identifying the points of leverage, the types of stakeholders to engage and how to engage them in the processes that focus on integrating gender in climate policies. Co-learning and co-development of knowledge products cultivate interest and commitment among stakeholders to address gender dynamics, although systematic monitoring and evaluation remains a challenge. This has implications for effective stakeholder engagement in mainstreaming gender in climate policies and evidence-based policy formulation for sustainable agriculture and food systems. Working with influential stakeholders, with the capacity and interest to address gender considerations yields more positive results. Mechanisms to address power relations need to be in place for gender considerations to be voiced and integrated and include women in decision-making processes.

Assessing and responding to gender inequalities, and promoting women's empowerment, can be critical to achieving the goals of climate services, such as improved climate resilience, productivity, food security and livelihoods. To this end, our paper seeks to provide guidance to rural climate service researchers, implementing organizations, and funders on gender-responsive evaluation of climate services, including key questions to be asked and appropriate methodology. We draw on case studies of rural climate services in Mali, Rwanda and Southeast Asia to illustrate how gender-responsive evaluations have framed and attempted to answer questions about climate information needs, access to information and support through group processes, and contribution of climate services to empowerment. Evaluation of how group participatory processes can enable women's and men's demand for weather and climate information can help close knowledge gaps on gender equity in access to climate services. Quantitative methods can rigorously identify changes in demand associated with varying interventions, but qualitative approaches may be necessary to help assess the nuances of participatory communication processes. Furthermore, evaluation of how women's and men's information needs differ according to their roles and responsibilities in distinct climate-sensitive decisions can help assess gender inequities in climate services use. Evaluation that critically considers the local normative and institutional environment influencing empowerment can help identify pathways for climate services to contribute to women's empowerment. Qualitative and mixed method methodologies can be helpful for assessing the normative and institutional changes upon which empowerment depends. Although evaluations are often conducted too late to inform the design of time-bound projects, they can contribute to improvements to climate services if results are shared widely, if implementers and funders consistently factor evidence and insights from prior evaluations into the design of new initiatives, and if ongoing climate service initiatives conduct preliminary evaluations regularly to support mid-course adjustments.

Limiting global warming to the 2°C target that countries have committed to in the 2015 Paris Agreement, and reaching the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, will require large-scale expansion of climate-resilient approaches in agriculture and food systems. In order to achieve the scale of change required, coordinated action is needed from global to local levels, from research to policy and investment, and across private, public, and civil society sectors. But at the same time, differential approaches are needed to address gender equality and women's concerns in climate-resilient agriculture. This article sets out a conceptual framework for scaling up climate resilient agriculture (CRA) approaches that are gender and socially inclusive by taking into account these constraints and inequalities across wider areas and different aspects of CRA. It builds on gender and climate-resilient agriculture research and project experience to argue that the additional integration of women's empowerment approaches and dimensions into this scaling framework provides the opportunity to promote gender equality while scaling up. It also identifies gaps and areas for further analysis and research. The intention is to identify potential pathways for developing a gender- and socially-inclusive set of options and strategies, in four key dimensions: climate resilient technologies and practices; climate information services that reach under-reached groups; inclusive finance mechanisms; and promoting leadership in decision-making.