Empowering rural women, powering agriculture: FAO's work on gender

KEY MESSAGES

1. Gender equality is essential for attaining food security, nutrition and achieving all the Sustainable Development Goals.

2. The agriculture sector is underperforming in many developing countries, and one reason is that women do not have equal access to the resources and opportunities they need to be more productive.

3. Nearly 821 million people (2017) are undernourished; if we are to end hunger by 2030, we must address the inequalities between women and men in agriculture.

4. The gender gap imposes high costs on the agriculture sector, the broader economy and society, as well as on women themselves.

5. Women are critical agents of change in the fight against rural poverty, hunger and malnutrition; they comprise near to or even more than 50 percent of the agricultural workforce in developing countries.

6. If women had the same access as men to productive resources, they could increase yields on their farms significantly, which could in turn reduce the number of hungry people in the world.

7. FAO’s work in gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls contributes to each of the 17 SDGs and is in line with the pledge of the 2030 Agenda to “leave no one behind.”

There is an urgent need to address the widespread barriers that women face in rural labour markets, so that they are no longer trapped in informal, low-status, low-skilled and poorly paid jobs, without legal or social protection. By providing equal provision of rural services and infrastructure it is possible to facilitate women’s access to education, productive resources, and build on their knowledge, skills and abilities.

More efforts are needed to increase women’s representation in local institutions and governance mechanisms and include them in decision-making within their households and communities. Increased attention is also required to overcome their work burden, recognizing their important contributions and ensuring equal pay and working conditions and benefits. This requires overcoming the marginalization of poor rural women that stems from gender-biased socio-cultural norms and practices, and better addressing gender issues in policies, programmes and investments in agriculture and food systems.

INTRODUCTION

"Leaving no one behind" requires closing the gender gap in food and agriculture.

Women form about half of the agricultural workforce and are agents of change and resilience builders. Yet the gender gap in food and agriculture remains extensive. As consumers, women are more likely to be food insecure than men in every region of the world; and as producers, rural women face even greater constraints than their male counterparts in accessing essential productive resources and services, technology, market information and financial assets.

The principle of “leaving no one behind” guides the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and FAO’s Policy on Gender Equality. The Policy prioritizes the equal participation and decision-making of women and men in rural institutions and in shaping laws, policies and programmes; the equal access to and control over productive resources, services, income, markets and decent employment; and the reduction of women’s work burden.