The purpose of this document is to provide general information on the main socio-economic aspects of Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic in terms of gender. It also identifies some central issues for rural women in the region, such as land tenure, access to water, and their relationship to climate change. Finally, the financial system is characterized in a conceptual and general way, from a gender perspective, to have a framework in accordance with the objectives of the programme Productive Investment Initiatives for Adaptation to Climate Change.