Date and time:
Monday, 5 June 2023, 14:00-16:00 (CEST)

Registration link: Click here / Streaming link: Click here

Live interpretation in English and French will be provided.

In the framework of the EU Green Week 2023 and in collaboration with the event “Empowering women championing the green transition in the Mediterranean”, this webinar aims at discussing the contribution of women to Mediterranean food systems and green transition. Representatives from governments, agri-food enterprises, researchers, international organizations and civil society will reflect on what needs to change to address the persisting gender gaps undermining women’s potential role and equal participation in greening food systems in the region.

All across the Mediterranean, women contribute to food systems at multiple levels, be it as food producers, innovators, researchers, consumers, or decision-makers. As such, they can play a key role in the “green transition” of Mediterranean food systems. However, as documented by the new comprehensive FAO report “The status of women in agrifood systems”, significant gender gaps persist that undermine women’s potential for an equal participation to the green transition.

For example, while the market demand for “green skills” is expected to increase across the Mediterranean, many women and girls still face considerable challenges in accessing specialized male-dominated education and training (e.g. STEM or agriculture-related subjects), agricultural support and financial services, green job opportunities, and innovative and climate-smart technologies and practices. At the same time, wide gender gaps are still observed in political participation and decision-making in many countries, and more specifically in natural resource governance mechanisms, relevant policy processes and climate negotiations.

To realize a green and equal transition of the agri-food labour market, investments are needed in upskilling and reskilling women in green sectors and supporting the STEM school-to-work transition. Gendered budgeting, sex-disaggregated data, women’s leadership in decision-making process are among the needed changes towards more inclusive and resilient Mediterranean food systems.

This session will aim to address some key questions:

• How can the greening of Mediterranean food systems be a driver rather than a challenge for women's equal participation, and what are the risks that a gender-blind green transition would entail?
• Are there any specific policies, programmes, or technological or scientific advancements that have proven to be effective in overcoming the barriers that women face to participate in the green transition?
• What needs to change to ensure that food systems become both green and inclusive of women’s participation and leadership, and who should be involved in / who is responsible for this transformation?

Full Agenda of the Session available HERE

This event is the fifth of the SFS-MED webinar series, jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), and the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) within the framework of the SFS-MED Platform, a multi-stakeholder initiative for Sustainable Food Systems in the Mediterranean.

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