Investment in climate services in support of climate change adaptation has increased, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. As this is a relatively new field of practice, little research is available to inform the design of these interventions. The aim of this research is to contribute to building knowledge around this theme. Given the gender dynamics inherent in decision making on livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa, we focus on differences in the use of climate services between men and women. We use quantitative and qualitative methods to critically discuss and review the barriers that exist for the use of climate information in making livelihoods related decisions. The results indicate that a link exists between households accessing productive assets and taking action on the basis of climate information, and revealed a large gender inequality across all the assessed variables. What emerged clearly is the need for interventions to be based on needs assessments to ensure that services provided are usable.