Posted December 1996
Valid until December 2001
As of January 2002, renamed Gender and Development Service (SDWW)
The Women in Development Service (SDWW)
Women and Population Division
Sustainable Development Department
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome, Italy
THE WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT SERVICE (SDWW) focuses on the implementation of
the FAO Plan of Action for Women in Development in order to address the
major goals of FAO and Member Nations in relation to agricultural and rural
development. Specifically, to stimulate growth with equity while reducing
rural poverty and achieving food security, through the provision of adequate
and equitable access to productive resources and essential supporting services
to both rural women and men. Through its Programme of Work and Budget (PWB),
the Service concentrates its efforts in the following key areas.
WID/Gender Training and National Capacity Building
Developing and disseminating tools, methods and training in socio-economic
and gender analyses in order to increase the capacity of FAO and Member
Nations to take into account the specific concerns of rural women and men
in development programmes and projects.
Policy Advice, Programme and Project Planning
Emphasizing participatory policy and planning advice to Member Nations;
formulating national WID strategies; strengthening WID machineries or units
capable of designing and implementing programmes for rural women; assisting
in reducing or eliminating legislative, administrative, socio-economic and
behavioural obstacles to rural women's access to productive resources and
services; and, promoting women's skills, capacities and opportunities to
participate in decision-making processes affecting their socio-economic
and political status.
Home Economics, Farm Households, Food and Technology
Promoting Resource Management Systems for small farm households and strengthening
communications systems between communities through the reorientation of
the curricula of agricultural and home economic training institutions. Emphasis
is also placed on the development and provision of technologies for rural
women, on food security issues, and on the expansion of rural employment
opportunities for women, including agro-industries and rural services in
the formal and informal sectors.
Women, Environment and Sustainable Development
Responding to recommendations in the Convention on Biological Diversity
and Agenda 21 of UNCED, especially Chapter 24: "Global Action for Women
Towards Sustainable and Equitable Development". Action-oriented research
focusing on analyzing the impact of environmental problems and of urban-rural
migration and linkages on women's livelihoods and the well-being of their
families, including the relationships between population policies and practices
and environmental sustainability. Attention is drawn to rural women's potential
and actual management roles in biodiversity and sustainable resource use
in such areas as soil conservation, irrigation and watershed management,
shallow waters and coastal resources management, integrated pest management,
land use planning, forest conservation and community forestry.
Data Collection , Information and WID/Gender Statistics
Supporting the collection, compilation, analysis, and diffusion of data
and statistics disaggregated by gender and the development of indicators
on women's participation in agriculture and related fields; the relationship
between rural women's status and demographic dynamics; the constraints to
the participatory involvement of rural women in development activities;
and, the roles and contributions of rural women in achieving poverty reduction,
building food security and attaining sustainable development.
SDWW is also the unit responsible for coordinating the implementation of
FAO's Plan of Action for Women in Development (1996-2001). The Service acts
as the Secretariat to the inter-Departmental Committee on Women in Development
(COWID), and it provides assistance to FAO's Technical Divisions to improve
and accelerate the mainstreaming of WID/gender concerns. Over the past several
biennia, the emphasis has shifted from WID/gender-oriented development projects
(approximately 70 in 1991 and 10 in 1996) to support for more normative
activities with a global perspective. Through it's focus on the above key
areas, SDWW aim to:
- present a more complete depiction of rural women, so that their conditions
and contributions to the economy and to society are valued, recognized and
integrated into planning mechanisms
- contribute to rural women's empowerment through capacity building activities
and training
- increase the awareness by governments and policy makers to gender-based
equality and accelerate the process of moving from words to deeds in the
inclusion of gender issues in macroeconomic policies
- address the vital role that women play in food production and food security
and affirm the need for the full participation of women at all levels in
order to achieve sustainable development
More information on the activities and outputs of the Service can be found
at:
Contact:
Women in Development Service (SDWW)
Sustainable Development Department (SD)
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
Tel: +39 06 570 55102
Fax: +39 06 570 52004 or +39 06 570 53152
E-mail:
SDWW-Chief@fao.org
