CSO Conversations: Gender and Heat Stress 24 September 2025 Expert panel highlights civil society's role in strengthening women's resilience to heat stress The CSO Conversations webinar on Gender and Heat Stress, held on September 24 via Zoom, brought together civil society organizations (CSO), Asian Development Bank (ADB) staff and development practitioners to address the critical intersection of gender equality and extreme heat resilience across Asia and the Pacific. Jointly presented by ADB’s Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department's Gender Equality Division and the NGO and Civil Society Center, the session highlighted civil society's essential role in strengthening women's resilience to extreme heat. Presentations and Insights ADB's Gender Equality Division discussed a technical assistance Strengthening Women’s Resilience to Heat Stress in Asia and the Pacific, emphasizing that heat stress poses profound threats to humans, ecosystems, economies, and societies. The ADB Technology Innovation Challenge awarded a $500,000 grant for cooling solutions benefiting women farmers in Cambodia, demonstrating that innovations work best when women's lived experiences inform their development. Civil society organizations Banteay Srei, People in Need (PIN) UK, and Islamic Relief Pakistan shared insights from their gender-responsive heat resilience projects. The Kampot Cooling consortium, which included CSOs and the private sector, presented their winning project from the ADB Technology Innovation Challenge, which pilots solar-powered cooling and irrigation systems for Cambodian pepper farms. This innovation addresses agricultural vulnerability where heat and drought have caused up to 80% crop losses, severely impacting women central to the industry. Their gender assessment revealed income losses of 30-40% linked to heat-related productivity drops, with 90% of surveyed women having never heard of "gender." Islamic Relief Pakistan presented findings from their rapid risk assessment across five provinces through 24 focus group discussions and 28 key informant interviews. The assessment revealed that reduced working hours from 6-8 hours to just 3-4 hours severely impact women farmers' incomes, while extreme heat disrupts health and education sectors, particularly affecting female students and teachers in overheated classrooms with inadequate infrastructure. Discussion Discussions highlighted critical gaps in heat stress preparedness and the importance of localized solutions co-developed with women. The session reinforced that lasting change requires direct community engagement, data-driven decision-making, and leveraging civil society's specialized knowledge to ensure the most vulnerable populations are not left behind. Questions arose around scaling solutions, private sector investment, incorporating new technologies in ADB operations, technology affordability, education, and heat-resilient construction generated active engagement throughout the webinar, demonstrating the urgency and importance of addressing gendered climate impacts. About CSO Conversations CSO Conversations is an ADB webinar series showcasing effective and meaningful CSO engagement in development projects. Initiated in 2022, the series is organized by ADB’s NGO and Civil Society Center under the Fragility and Engagement Division of the Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department. Watch the session: Program and Learning Materials 24 September 2025 Session / Activity Title Speaker(s) 2:00–2:03 p.m. Introduction and Welcome Samantha Hung Director, Gender Equality Division, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department, ADB 2:03–2:20 p.m. Strengthening Women’s Resilience to Heat Stress in Asia and the Pacific - Part 1 Extreme heat in Asia, impact on women, ADB technical assistance Zonibel Woods 2:03–2:20 p.m. Strengthening Women’s Resilience to Heat Stress in Asia and the Pacific - Part 2 Rising Above the Heat Innovative Cooling Solutions for Rural Women in Asia Jinha Kim 2:20–2:45 p.m. Kampot Cooling: Innovative Technology Solution to Save Cambodia’s World-Famous Pepper - Part 1 About PIN, the challenge, impact of heat on Cambodian farmers and agriculture, and the innovation Aaron Bouchane 2:20–2:45 p.m. Kampot Cooling: Innovative Technology Solution to Save Cambodia’s World-Famous Pepper - Part 2 Women's empowerment approach Giulia Cappellazzi 2:20–2:45 p.m. Kampot Cooling: Innovative Technology Solution to Save Cambodia’s World-Famous Pepper - Part 3 About Banteay Srei, gender assessment key findings, key activities, and dedicated gender action plan Phearong Sdeung 2:45–2:55 p.m. CSO Research on Gender and Heat Stress About IRP, Pakistan context, rapid risk assessment on gendered impact of extreme heat, sector-wise analysis, impact of heat stress on women Raza Narejo 2:55–3:10 p.m. Q&A Moderator: Emma Walters, Senior Social Development Specialist, NGOC, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department, ADB 3:10–3:15 p.m. Summary and Close Emma Walters, Senior Social Development Specialist, NGOC, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department, ADB Disclaimer The views expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Event Coordinator/s Emma Walters ADB Organizer/s Climate Change and Sustainable Development Gender Equality Division Topics Capacity Development Civil Society Gender Equality