ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how Mexico currently frames gender and women's participation within existing early Reducing Emissions from Deforestation, and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD+) programs, as part of their compliance with international safeguards, and the results of such framings on the ground. It argues that these framings represent a paradoxical relationship between discourse and the ways gender equity takes place in practice. The chapter explores the current framing of gender in the recently published National REDD+ Strategy which is a planning and public policy document that outlines Mexico's contribution to reducing emissions. It shows the results of a small study from an early action REDD+ program that illustrates the contradictory ways that promoting gender equity in early REDD+ actions happens on the ground. The chapter aims to pose important questions about the mainstreaming of gender in REDD+, that are important to consider for policymakers and practitioners hopeful that REDD+ can bring about simultaneous sustainable and social development.
