About the programme
The C40 Women4Climate Mentorship Programme connected women mayors, city officials, business leaders, international organisations, and civil society with emerging women climate leaders. It provided mentees with training, networking opportunities, and guidance from diverse leaders, to drive women’s involvement in inclusive climate action and innovation.
Since its launch in 2017, 44 Women4Climate mentorship programmes have been implemented in partnership with 22 cities worldwide, spanning every continent. View all cities that took part in the programme:
Addis Ababa
2019
2023
Auckland
2019
2022
2023
Barcelona
2019
2021
2023
Bengaluru
2022
Bogotá
2023
Chennai
2022
Freetown
2020
2023
Lima
2020
2021
2023
Mexico City
2018
2023
Montréal
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Tel Aviv – Yafo
2018
2020
2022
Toronto
2020
2021
2023
Vancouver
2019
2020
2021
2022
Delivering a mentorship programme
Using a standardised model, derived from experience with cities, mentors, and mentees, the programme was customised for each city to align with its context, community engagement, partnerships, and climate action priorities.
The Women4Climate programme has helped improve women’s participation in climate crisis decision-making and access to good, green jobs – 68% of mentees surveyed improved their climate programming and leadership skills. A huge 87% were able to raise the profile of their projects through the programme, with several mentees receiving critical acclaim for their initiatives.
To continue the programme’s success and build upon its legacy, we have developed the Women4Climate Mentorship Programme Implementation Guide – a one-stop-shop for anyone planning or running a mentorship programme for women and/or marginalised communities on climate action.
It includes city case studies, advice from mentors, mentees and mayors, as well as checklists and training topics.
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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.
