This work was part of the CGIAR Gender Platform and the CGIAR Initiative on Fragility to Resilience in Central and West Asia and North Africa. 

A groundbreaking new research strategy identifies priorities to advance gender equality in agriculture in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for adapting and building resilience to climate change.  

The newly published strategy results from compiling over two decades of research in gender equality evidence and knowledge, outlining gaps in existing theoretical and applied assessment literature. The strategy aims to deliver recommendations for future research and public policy that can lead to significantly more equitable outcomes for women working in agriculture in the region and improved livelihoods and food security. 

The MENA region is one of the most gender-unequal regions in the world*. Yet as more men follow a migration trend to urban areas, women are left behind to continue the viability of the family farm. The result is that over 50% of agricultural workers in the region are women. Yet, they are disadvantaged in agriculture because of entrenched gender roles and responsibilities, restrictive sociocultural norms, and lower access to productive resources, technology, markets, finance, and information. Even research outcomes, such as new crop varieties, favor traditional male users and their needs.