CEDAW/C/GC/40 public procurement market, 10 and women comprised only 17.7 per cent of inventors named in patent applications in 2023. 11 Women occupy only 28.2 per cent of management positions in the labour market, 12 and a survey of 185 central banks showed that only 16 per cent were led by women. 13 In 2019, only 2 per cent of venture capital was directed towards start-ups founded by women. 14 The growing importance of the digital economy and the continuing gender digital gap risk exacerbating this situation and creating new forms of systemic discrimination. C. Climate change and environmental disaster risk reduction 8. As highlighted in general recommendation No. 37 (2018) on the gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change, gender inequalities and intersecting forms of discrimination against women and girls are exacerbated by climate change and disasters, which heighten their exposure to resulting risks and losses. The critical role of women in disaster risk reduction is also highlighted in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. Research shows that countries with more women parliamentarians are more likely to adopt policies on climate change and land conservation and ratify environmental treaties. 15 Similarly, having more women on corporate boards has been linked to energy efficiency improvements and a reduced environmental footprint. 16 In agricultural regions, women’s traditional and Indigenous knowledge is key to adaptive practices in farming, climate change management and resource management. 17 However, women, especially young women, who are leading climate and environmental activism , 18 are largely excluded from decision-making. As at 2020, women held only 15 per cent of ministerial portfolios in the environmental sector. 19 The representation of women on party delegations at the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change stood at 34 per cent, a proportion that has remained stagnant over the last 10 years. 20 __________________ 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 24-20036 International Trade Centre (ITC), “ITC-UN-Women: Global Campaign on Gender-Responsive Public Procurement”, available at www.intracen.org/news-and-events/campaigns/women-inpublic-procurement. World Intellectual Property Organization, “Intellectual property, gender, and diversity”, available at www.wipo.int/web/gender. Taylor Hanna and others, “Forecasting women in leadership positions: technical brief”, (UN-Women), available at www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2023-11/forecasting-women-inleadership-positions.pdf. Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, Gender Balance Index 2024. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UNESCO Science Report: The Race against Time for Smarter Development (Paris, 2021). International Union for Conservation of Nature, “New data reveals slow progress in achieving gender equality in environmental decision making”, 1 March 2021 . Silvia Lesi, “Gender and climate action”, European Investment Bank, 28 July 2023 . General recommendation No. 37 (2018) on the gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change. See also A/HRC/50/25. International Union for Conservation of Nature, “New data reveals slow progress in achieving gender equality in environmental decision making” . WEDO, “Release: new data shows 34% women’s participation on party delegations at COP28, the same percentage as 10 years ago”, 24 January 2024. Available at https://wedo.org/releasenew-data-shows-34-womens-participation-on-party-delegations-at-cop28-the-same-percentageas-10-years-ago/. 5/29