Gender mainstreaming in climate change policy: opportunities and challenges for gender justice in Mauritius

Climate change is intrinsically linked to gender. Evidence shows women face the greatest impacts of climate change due to higher poverty presence, reliance on land, family responsibilities, and less societal power. Our study uses Carol Bacchi's “What is the Problem Represented to Be?” (WPR) approach to analyse climate change and gender policies in Mauritius, a small island state. We apply a two-dimensional theory of gender justice that foregrounds both economic distribution and social recognition. The findings highlight the need for a transformative approach to climate policymaking that moves beyond tokenistic gender mainstreaming to address the structural and socio-cultural inequalities that shape climate vulnerability. For small island states like Mauritius, this requires strengthening locally led, intersectional climate governance and reducing dependence on externally driven policy agendas to advance both climate resilience and gender justice.