Women Empowering Communities: The Role of Grassroots Climate Philanthropy in Promoting Climate Resilience and Gender Equity

Abstract (English)

Presenter(s): Lucy Khofi
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5271-9445
Email: l.m.khofi@uva.nl
Affiliation: University of the Witwatersrand and University of Amsterdam

This paper examines the intersection of gender, climate justice, and community-driven philanthropy through the work of GenderCC Southern Africa – Women for Climate Justice, a feminist climate organisation based in South Africa. Rooted in the anthropological study of lived experience, this research explores how women in under-resourced urban and peri-urban environments navigate and respond to climate change through grassroots organising, local knowledge, and socio-ecological care practices.
The study is informed by an ethnographic methodology combining participant observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis of GenderCC reports, advocacy materials, and programmatic evaluations. By foregrounding the voices and practices of women at the frontline of climate crises, this paper investigates how feminist climate justice initiatives address systemic inequalities in access to resources, decision-making spaces, and resilience strategies.
The objective is to explore how grassroots climate philanthropy, driven by women and shaped by collective knowledge, functions as both a survival strategy and a transformative political act. Through an anthropological lens, the paper reveals how climate action rooted in gender justice not only mitigates environmental vulnerabilities but also reconfigures local governance, kinship systems, and social imaginaries of care.
The research contributes to anthropological sciences by offering a grounded analysis of climate adaptation practices and feminist knowledge production within marginalised communities. It challenges dominant technocratic narratives and highlights the importance of intersectionality, relational ontologies, and cultural meanings in climate governance. Practically, the findings offer critical insight into how community-led responses can inform equitable policy frameworks and participatory development models, especially in the Global South.
By centring the everyday actions and strategies of women, the paper repositions them as agents of change, knowledge-holders whose work is vital to reimagining a sustainable and inclusive future in the Anthropocene.