RECOFTC
WAVES

Team 30: Achieving gender equity in the forestry sector

Thirty gender leaders in Nepal advance their knowledge and leadership skills.
Gender leaders show their colourful hands to represent gender equality and to promote diversity, solidarity and acceptance during the graduation program in Lalitpur from 7 to 9 January, 2022
Gender leaders show their colourful hands to represent gender equality and to promote diversity, solidarity and acceptance during the graduation program in Lalitpur from 7 to 9 January, 2022

RECOFTC supported 30 young female foresters in their efforts to ensure gender equity in the forest sector in Nepal. The year-long program was called "30 Weaving 300: Enabling ecosystem for advancing women's leadership and tackling gender inequalities in the forestry sector”.

RECOFTC’s goal was to cultivate gender leaders and deepen their influence and impact in the forestry sector. The program was a part of RECOFTC’s WAVES initiative, which stands for Weaving Leadership for Gender Equality.  

The 30 gender leaders call themselves “Team 30.” They were identified, oriented, trained, guided and mentored by representatives of Nepal’s Female Foresters' Network who are also the gender leaders from WAVES. 

Shreyashi Bista, a graduate of Institute of Forestry and member of Team 30, left the program with a commitment to sensitize her female juniors and make them understand gender issues.  

"Team 30 was an eye opener for me,” said Bista. “Learning from gender experts about various spectrums of biases and harassment provided real zeal and enthusiasm to work on bringing gender equality in the forestry sector."

The program included 18 webinars on themes such as forestry, masculine culture, perspectives in forestry and climate change.

Team 30 participants welcomed and shared their learnings and experiences on their journey towards becoming a gender leader. They agreed to develop an action plan through which they would make a significant contribution to gender equity in their communities and workplaces.

Team 30 members participate in training sessions
Team 30 members participate in training sessions

“This training built wider networking to connect as many female foresters as possible to shed more light on gender values and rights,” said Aarati Khatri, a member of Team 30. “It encouraged me to elevate my passion and interest in gender issues.” 

The WAVES initiative strengthens the leadership skills of participants by enhancing their expertise in gender issues and ways to overcome gender inequality and reframe women as equal actors in forestry landscapes. The ultimate goal is to give technical legitimacy to the term gender equality and achieve gender equality, inclusion and social justice in all spheres. 

RECOFTC is conducting additional Team 30 leadership training involving 40 potential gender leaders from diverse backgrounds in the environmental sector. 

###

The Weaving Leadership for Gender Equality (WAVES) initiative enhances leadership skills and supports the capacity of leaders to advocate for gender equality. RECOFTC implements WAVES with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). For more information visit the WAVES page.

RECOFTC’s work is made possible with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).