Organizations committed to addressing gender inequalities in agrifood systems join CGE to:

• Become part of a global movement to accelerate gender equality and women’s empowerment in agrifood systems through proven, evidence-based approaches.
• Join annual high-level events held alongside global convenings such as the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the UN General Assembly, Climate Week and the World Food Forum to connect with like-minded partners and build future collaborations.
• Engage in strategic matchmaking with partners sharing complementary priorities to unlock funding or technical collaboration, expanding collective impact. 
• Collaborate with technical workstreams within CGE that are piloting evidence-based initiatives to level the playing field in agrifood systems and ensure women’s fair participation. 
• Gain greater visibility for their ongoing efforts to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in agrifood systems through a platform that amplifies and showcases their work, leveraging FAO’s unique expertise and longstanding leadership in global advocacy and  policy development that shapes national and international agendas on food, agriculture, and gender equality.
  
  

CGE is one of few global initiatives focused specifically on closing gaps between women and men and addressing gender inequalities in agrifood systems. It seeks to work in synergy with other initiatives, while offering a unique and system-wide value proposition and creating an enabling ecosystem, filling a critical gap in the global development landscape. CGE is the only initiative specifically designed to convene and align diverse partners, including governments, UN agencies, private sector actors, civil society organizations, and donors, under a common accountability and investment framework to drive the transformation of agrifood systems through gender equality. It provides a structured mechanism for partners to make measurable, public commitments; facilitates matchmaking and collective action; ensures transparent progress tracking; and seeks to catalyze large-scale investments to shift policies, programmes, and financing flows. 

The commitments represent actions which have been shown from evidence to support closing gaps between women and men in agrifood systems. Much of this evidence was presented and reviewed in FAO's 2023 Status of Women in Agrifood Systems report and builds on the work of research institutions, academics and governments. 

For example, women’s access to land is closely linked to their access to other productive resources including water and seeds, and is essential for their economic autonomy and empowerment. Land ownership reduces women’s dependency on male counterparts, including relatives and partners, and enables them to access financial credit and loans as land is a common collateral required by financial institutions. (FAO 2021) Secure land rights encourage women to adopt new technologies and make long-term agricultural investments, resulting in higher productivity and increased income. They also enhance women’s participation in producer organizations and cooperatives. Moreover, when women own land, their families generally experience better nutrition and health, women’s well-being improves, and rates of domestic violence tend to decrease.

With this in mind, CGE developed commitments A3.1 and B3.1 which focus on strengthening women’s legal access to land and property rights. 

CGE commitments are therefore suggested areas/activities for partners’ action that will ultimately enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment in AFS through increased collective financing, investments and partnerships.

The flexible nature of the Commitments Matrix enables partners to set commitments across a range of areas, from policymaking to advocacy to improvements at the workplace level. FAO, for instance, has committed to supporting 10 countries in the implementation of  the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment in the Context of Food Security and Nutrition. The Government of South Sudan has instead committed to promoting a gender-responsive implementation of their new National Land Policy.

Commitments outlined in the CGE Commitments Matrix include: 

• Overarching commitments: These are designed to catalyze large-scale structural change and promote an increase in gender-responsive financing to ensure that institutions embed gender-transformative approaches into their operations and decision-making frameworks. 
• Thematic commitments: These commitments address persistent inequalities in AFS and were designed to drive meaningful progress in advancing gender equality in AFS. They cover the following thematic areas: (i) Enhancing women’s leadership in AFS; (ii) Closing the wage gap in AFS; (iii) Closing the productivity gap in AFS; (iv) Enhancing women’s empowerment and resilience in AFS; (v) Increasing data, research and evidence on gender equality and women’s empowerment in AFS.
  
  

CGE offers a matrix of evidence-informed priority action areas which partners are invited to align with by making a voluntary commitment. Partners can align with one or more of the actions defined in the matrix and articulate those in the online commitments form. 

To submit a commitment, partners should: 

1. Select the sector their entity operates
2. Select area(s) they wish to make a commitment(s) 
3. Articulate action(s) with a brief narrative description
4. Select relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) 
5. Designate a focal point representing their entity with whom the CGE core team can communicate
   
   

Through their voluntary commitments and active engagement, partners help shape the collective direction of the initiative, share learning and data, and contribute to building a global platform for action on accelerating gender equality in agrifood systems. While not involved in decision-making, partners are expected to participate in CGE’s collaborative processes and contribute to shared knowledge, technical inputs and visibility. 

All partners are asked to report annually by end May, latest, on their commitment(s) using a short reporting template to highlight progress made on CGE actions using self-defined outcomes indicators, in addition to selected KPIs.

Partners can also choose to include a highlight story or case study for inclusion in the annual CGE Progress Report.

Aggregated results are published annually in the CGE Impact Report and website dashboard/tracker. The CGE report is produced in the last quarter of the calendar year.

A company may make a voluntary commitment or alignment of action to CGE, which is  a non-binding statement made by the company of its proposed programmes, investment or partnerships to accelerate women’s empowerment and gender equality within agrifood systems value chains. Companies articulate their statement using the online Commitments Form. 

A CGE commitment or alignment statement requires companies to commit to internationally accepted principles, including but not limited to the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS-RAI), the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment in the Context of Food Security and Nutrition, the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes, the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact, and the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. 

Commitments or alignment statements are not intended to create any legally enforceable rights or obligations of the company or its affiliates. 

A commitment or statement of alignment does not equate to a direct partnership with FAO nor any other CGE collaborators and does not constitute any form of endorsement or due diligence clearance by FAO.  

Additionally, being a participant to the CGE initiative does not allow the entity to represent FAO under any circumstance nor authorizes FAO to speak on the company’s behalf. Nothing in the CGE initiative or in any document or arrangement relating thereto shall be construed as constituting a waiver of privileges or immunities of FAO, nor as conferring any privileges or immunities of FAO to CGE participants. 

Entities that choose to make a voluntary commitment or statement of alignment to CGE may disseminate their actions through their institutional channels. Entities agree not to use the FAO or other CGE partners’ name or logo in any press release, memo, report or other published disclosure related to CGE without prior written consent of FAO or the party concerned. 

Coming soon: The CGE team is producing a toolkit of templates and visibility materials which partners can adapt and use to publicize their engagement with this initiative. Stay tuned!

CGE is a FAO-led initiative facilitated by FAO’s Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division (ESP) which ensures day-to-day coordination, technical leadership, and alignment with FAO’s mandate and governance frameworks.

CGE is governed through two main bodies:

• The Advisory Group, composed of diverse representatives from CGE partners, which provides strategic direction, helps shape priorities, and champions the initiative globally.
• The CGE Core Team within FAO which operationalizes activities, manages partnerships, leads communications and reporting, and ensures smooth coordination across the platform.

Governance is inclusive, flexible, and based on consensus, with regular consultation, and periodic strategic stocktaking through the Advisory Group meetings.

Partners contribute voluntarily, helping shape CGE’s direction and learning agenda through shared commitments and active engagement.

A light monitoring system and transparent reporting tools, including an annual progress report and online dashboard, ensure accountability and visibility of collective progress.