About 600 million of the world’s poorest households keep livestock as an essential source of income and food production to manage risk, store wealth and build up assets. However, women face several constraints to ownership and decision-making power in the sector. Scaling up culturally acceptable and locally available solutions requires government intervention through intentional policies that can empower women. Further, more funds should be allocated to replicate successful gender-responsive and transformative projects and identify entry points to mainstream gender considerations into livestock policies. This brief showcases promising research and innovation, particularly from countries engaged through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Flexible Multi-Partner Mechanism (FMM) 149 project. India and Botswana are highlighted as examples to inform policymakers and guide gender-responsive, climate-smart investments and policies in countries’ livestock sectors.