Climate change is likely to exacerbate gendered vulnerabilities and compound intersecting forms of discrimination against women. International donors and policymakers are increasingly interested in strengthening social protection programmes to address such adverse impacts, but there is a lack of evidence about how this can be achieved.

Addressing this gap, this paper examines the potential of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to reduce women’s vulnerability to climate risks in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh in India. It provides lessons on priority action areas for integrating gender within the planning, implementation, and monitoring of the programme to better meet women’s needs in the face of climate risk.