Global Landscapes Forum highlights eight changemakers as gender gaps persist in climate policy
By Bunmi Yekini
The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) has unveiled a new list of women leaders from Africa, Latin America and Asia ahead of International Women’s Day, spotlighting their work on climate action, social justice and community leadership at a time when funding cuts threaten gender-related data used in policymaking.
The platform said its 2026 “Women with a New Vision for Earth” list recognises eight women working across fields including environmental advocacy, technology, politics and sports.
The initiative comes as women’s perspectives remain largely absent from national climate strategies, despite facing greater risks from climate-related crises, according to recent findings from UN Women.
Among those featured is Asisat Oshoala, the Nigerian football star currently playing for Al Hilal. One of Africa’s most decorated female footballers, Oshoala also runs a foundation that supports girls across the continent through football and vocational training programmes including digital literacy.
The list also includes Billie Eilish, the American singer-songwriter known for using her global platform to advocate for climate action and environmental justice, and Francia Márquez Mina, Colombia’s vice president and a long-time environmental activist who won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2018 for her work opposing illegal gold mining.
Other honourees include Peruvian Indigenous storyteller Alessandra Yupanqui, Indian digital anthropologist Payal Arora, Indonesian diplomat Retno Marsudi, Filipino Indigenous leader Kristel C. Quierrez and climate finance executive Tariye Gbadegesin, a Nigerian-American who leads the Climate Investment Funds.
GLF said the women represent a growing movement pushing for inclusive solutions to environmental challenges while elevating voices often excluded from decision-making.
“Indigenous Peoples must be recognized as strategic partners and co-authors of solutions, not as beneficiaries,” Yupanqui said, calling for stronger partnerships that share resources, governance and decision-making power.
Marsudi, the United Nations Secretary-General’s special envoy on water and Indonesia’s former foreign minister, said women and water issues should be placed at the centre of policy.
“Empowering women accelerates water solutions, and building water resilience protects the planet,” she said.
Gbadegesin said tackling climate change requires investments that support dignified and sustainable livelihoods. “The challenge now is to act boldly and scale what works,” she added.
The GLF, led by the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry with support from partners including United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank, said the recognition aims to amplify women shaping climate solutions across the Global South.