LocationsInternational Women’s Day: How UNDP Is Advancing Gender Equality Across Tanzania
March 8, 2026
As Tanzania joins the global community in commemorating International Women’s Day, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is highlighting how gender equality lies at the heart of sustainable development, climate resilience, peacebuilding, and economic transformation. Across the country, UNDP is supporting women and girls to overcome structural barriers, strengthen livelihoods, and take up leadership roles in sectors traditionally dominated by men.
From climate-vulnerable rural communities in western Tanzania, to technical training institutions in Dar es Salaam and youth vocational programmes in Zanzibar, UNDP’s work demonstrates that empowering women is essential to building resilient families, inclusive economies, and peaceful societies.
Women at the Frontline of Climate Resilience in Rukwa
In Rukwa, climate change has had devastating effects on livelihoods, particularly for women who rely on agriculture to support their families. Floods and landslides linked to extreme weather have destroyed farms and reduced food security in areas surrounding Lake Rukwa.
“We used to grow rice using irrigation water from the lake. Then landslides came, the lake expanded and destroyed our farms. All crops were washed away,” says Veronika Profati, a resident of Sumbawanga.
To help women recover and adapt, UNDP recently conducted a three-day training for women from empowerment groups in Sumbawanga District. Delivered under a disaster-risk reduction and climate-resilience project, the training focused on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, economic empowerment, and prevention of gender-based violence.
According to UNDP Gender Specialist Clara Maliwa, women are intentionally prioritised. “During disasters, women are often the first victims, but they are also the first responders in the family. When we empower women economically, we strengthen entire households and communities.”
Women from empowerment groups in Rukwa participate in a UNDP-supported training on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and climate resilience, strengthening livelihoods and advancing gender equality in disaster-prone communities.
Participants reported gaining critical skills in savings, loan management, and record-keeping— tools that are helping them rebuild livelihoods and reduce vulnerability to future climate shocks. Many women attended the training with young children, highlighting the additional caregiving burdens women carry during crises.
Breaking Barriers in Tanzania’s Sustainable Energy Sector
UNDP’s support for gender equality also extends into Tanzania’s clean energy transition. Women remain significantly underrepresented in the energy sector, making up only about 20 per cent of the workforce and far fewer in technical and engineering roles.
Before 2023, female enrolment in the Master of Sustainable Energy Engineering programme at the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology averaged fewer than two students per year—reflecting deep-rooted barriers to women’s participation in STEM fields.
To address this gap, the EU-funded Energy Efficiency Action Plan supported the launch of the Tanzania Young Women in Energy Efficiency Scholarship in 2023. The programme expanded rapidly, supporting 10 women in its first cohort and 25 in the second. In 2025, a further 10 women were supported under the rebranded Women in Sustainable Energy (WISE) Scholarship, backed by the Embassy of Ireland through the Ushirikiano wa Kijani project.
In total, 45 young women have now received financial and technical support to pursue postgraduate training in sustainable energy engineering. Beyond academic study, scholars complete internationally accredited energy audit and energy management courses, with several becoming among the first women in Tanzania to earn globally recognised certifications.
“Being selected changed my life. Today, I am contributing to Tanzania’s clean energy future,” says Ms. Gladys Siwa, a scholarship recipient.
Graduates are already working across government, academia, utilities, and the private sector—conducting energy audits, strengthening energy management systems, contributing to policy discussions, and inspiring more young women to pursue STEM careers. Their growing presence is reshaping the sector and helping close long-standing gender gaps.
Young women scholars supported by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) pose for a group photo during their postgraduate training in sustainable energy engineering in Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT), breaking barriers and building a new generation of women leaders in the clean energy sector.
Young Women, Skills, and Peace in Zanzibar
In Zanzibar, UNDP is advancing gender equality through youth empowerment and peacebuilding. Under the Dumisha Amani II programme, 60 young people—22 of them women—graduated from vocational training in electrical installation, plumbing, and carpentry across Unguja and Pemba.
By enabling young women to access non-traditional technical skills, the programme challenges occupational stereotypes and opens pathways to decent work and entrepreneurship. Graduates reported increased confidence, employability, and readiness to start small businesses—critical steps toward economic independence.
The programme links skills development with peacebuilding outcomes, recognising that economic exclusion and unemployment disproportionately affect women and young people and can undermine social cohesion. By empowering young women as skilled workers and income earners, UNDP contributes to more inclusive growth and stronger, more peaceful communities.
Young women participating in the Dumisha Amani II programme listen attentively during a UNDP-supported vocational training session in Zanzibar, gaining practical skills for employment, economic independence, and inclusive development.
Gender Equality at the Core of Development
Across Tanzania, UNDP integrates gender equality into climate action, economic development, energy transition, and peacebuilding. These efforts align with national priorities and global commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals—particularly those on gender equality, decent work, reduced inequalities, and peaceful societies.
As International Women’s Day is marked, the stories of women from Rukwa, Dar es Salaam, and Zanzibar send a powerful message: when women are empowered with skills, resources, and opportunities, families become more resilient, economies grow stronger, and development becomes more inclusive.
Through targeted investments and systemic change, UNDP continues to support Tanzanian women and girls not only as beneficiaries of development, but as leaders and drivers of a more equitable and sustainable future.
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