Gender assessment kit for climate finance: A diagnostic and decision-support tool for identifying gender and social inclusion barriers to climate finance access in Kenya

Access to climate finance is shaped by gender and social inequalities that influence who can obtain, use, control and benefit from financial resources. Despite growing commitments to gender-responsive climate finance, barriers persist across financial institutions, policy frameworks, delivery mechanisms and communities. This Gender Assessment Kit for Climate Finance provides a practical diagnostic and decision-support framework for identifying and addressing these barriers in Kenya.

The kit integrates gender analysis, financial inclusion and institutional assessment approaches to examine barriers along the climate finance access pathway. Drawing on evidence from West Pokot and Turkana counties, it considers demand-side, supply-side and institutional constraints affecting women, youth, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups. It provides practical assessment instruments, including focus group discussion and key informant interview guides, household assessment modules, institutional scorecards, barrier prioritization matrices and action-planning tools.

Designed for policymakers, climate finance institutions, development practitioners and implementing partners, the kit supports the identification of exclusion risks, assessment of institutional practices and development of context-specific actions to improve equitable access to climate finance and its benefits. It also provides guidance for monitoring progress and incorporating learning into financing decisions. By linking community-level evidence with institutional processes and financing mechanisms, the kit aims to strengthen gender-responsive, inclusive and accountable climate finance planning and delivery in Kenya.