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Globally, and with only a few exceptions, rural and indigenous women fare worse than rural men and urban women and men on every indicator for which data are available. Although they share challenges in the form of rural location and genderbased discrimination, rural women and girls are not a homogeneous group. The opportunities and constraints they face differ across their lifetimes, contexts and circumstances; they are influenced by location and socio-economic status

and social identities associated with other forms of marginalization, such as indigenous origin and ethnicity, age, disability, migrant or refugee status. The complex experiences of rural and indigenous women and girls mean that they commonly face varied and deeply entrenched obstacles to empowerment. It is thus imperative to not only take stock of the broad experiences of rural women and girls, but also to recognize and address the specific needs and distinct realities faced by those constituting these two groups.

This document highlights some of the ways in which this can be achieved. This includes good practices from the members of the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality in the thematic areas of education; food security and nutrition; health; access to and control over land and other productive resources; leadership, decision-making and public life; social protection and services; care and domestic work; GBV; and resilience in the context of climate change and fragility.