Who we are
Women make up almost half the world’s population; the climate crisis disproportionately impacts women, but too often, their voices are not heard due to a lack of representation at decision-making levels. Enhancing women’s participation and leadership in climate action is critical to securing a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future for us all.
Launched in 2016 by C40 Cities and the L’Oréal Foundation, Women4Climate emphasises the connection between achieving climate justice and gender equality. Through the Women4Climate initiative, we aim to:
- Empower and inspire the next generation of climate leaders through a global mentorship programme dedicated to women in C40 cities.
- Raise awareness through research on gender, cities and climate to highlight the key role women play in championing climate action in cities.
Partners
The Fondation L’Oréal supports and empowers women to shape their future and make a difference in society, focusing on three major areas: scientific research and inclusive beauty and climate action.
Since 1998, the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science program has worked to empower more women scientists to overcome barriers to progression and participate in solving the great challenges of our time, for the benefit of all. For 25 years, it has supported more than 4,100 women researchers from over 110 countries, rewarding scientific excellence and inspiring younger generations of women to pursue science as a career.
Convinced that beauty contributes to the process of rebuilding lives, the Fondation L’Oréal helps vulnerable women to improve their self-esteem through free beauty and wellness treatments. It also enables underprivileged women to gain access to employment with dedicated vocational beauty training. On average, around 16,000 people have access to these free treatments every year and more than 35,000 people have taken part in professional beauty training, since the beginning of the programme.
Finally, women are affected by persistent gender-based discrimination and inequalities, exacerbated by climate change. While they are on the frontline of the crisis, they remain under-represented in climate decision-making. The Women and Climate programme of the Fondation L’Oréal supports, in particular, women who are developing climate action projects addressing the urgent climate crisis and raises awareness of the importance of gender-sensitive climate solutions.
To learn more about Fondation L’Oréal, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter (@FondationLOreal).
The VELUX Group is proud to be sponsoring the second edition of the Women4Cimate Tech Challenge. We believe women have a central role to play in developing and implementing sustainable solutions to benefit coming generations. We acknowledge the foresight of women and the barriers they often face in bringing their ideas to the fore. Through our support of this challenge, we can help some women to drive climate actions that change cities for the better.
The VELUX Group is also an overall C40 sponsor. Through this sponsorship we can further the dialogues and knowledge sharing that is necessary to lead to partnerships, and thereby actions, to improve the cities of the world.
VELUX products create better living, working and learning environments for people by making the most of daylight and fresh air through the roof. Based on the knowledge we have acquired from more than 75 years in business, we strive to improve awareness about how good indoor climates in buildings can contribute to good health and well-being for the people who occupy them. In our Healthy Homes Barometer, an annual independent research-based report, we investigate the effect unhealthy buildings have on people’s health. We believe that creating healthier buildings, where people spend up to 90% of their time, is key to achieving sustainable, likeable and not least liveable cities.
