Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Williams, Brian

Committee Member

Fosu, Boniface

Committee Member

Thompson, Diego

Committee Member

Ambinakudige, Shrinidhi

Date of Degree

8-7-2025

Original embargo terms

Visible MSU Only 2 Years

Document Type

Dissertation - Campus Access Only

Major

Geography

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Geosciences

Abstract

This dissertation critically examines the conceptualization and operationalization of gender and climate change by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in rural Northern Ghana. Using an Intersectional Feminist Political Ecology (IFPE) framework, the study questions discourse, strategies, and power relations embedded in the interventions of the NGOs responding to climate-related vulnerabilities of smallholder women farmers (SHWFs). This research seeks to answer three interrelated questions: how NGOs frame the relationship between gender and climate change; how these framings influence women’s participation in adaptation interventions; and how effective NGO strategies are in addressing the intersectional realities of gendered vulnerability within smallholder agriculture. This study adopts a qualitative methodology, combining in-depth interviews, focus-group discussions, participant observation, and document analysis across five NGOs and two communities in the Savannah region of Northern Ghana. The findings reveal that while NGOs consistently frame women as disproportionately vulnerable to climate change, their strategies often instrumentalize the role of women in climate adaptation without addressing the underlying structural barriers, such as land tenure inequalities, patriarchal governance systems, and access to resources, that perpetuate gendered marginalization. Although many interventions are presented as empowering, they tend to prioritize technocratic and market-based solutions like climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and micro-enterprise development. These approaches, however, frequently fail to consider local knowledge systems or the social relations that mediate women’s access to land, technology, and decision-making power. By bridging empirical evidence with critical theory, this dissertation contributes to ongoing debates in geography, development studies, and feminist environmental scholarship. The study argues for a more transformative and context-specific approach to climate adaptation, one that recognizes SHWFs not only as vulnerable recipients but also as political actors embedded within complex systems of power and inequality. The study concludes with recommendations for NGOs and policymakers to design interventions that are not only gender-sensitive but also structurally responsive and justice-oriented.

Sponsorship (Optional)

The Geoscience Department

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