Women are the majority of the world’s poor livestock keepers (FAO 2011). Since women are generally responsible for putting food on the table and they typically spend a higher proportion of their income on food compared to men, enhancing women’s control over livestock and their products can improve household nutrition security (Smith et al. 2003; FAO 2011; De Schutter 2012; Gali`e et al. n.d.). Women also sell livestock and their products. This can be important for female dairy keepers and traders with limited alternative sources of income (Gali`e et al. 2021). More broadly, livestock can contribute to strengthening women’s economic empowerment. This is because it is often easier for poor women to acquire livestock – whether through inheritance, markets, or collective action – compared to other assets such as land and machinery (Kristjanson et al. 2010; Rubin et al. 2010; Farnworth et al. 2015). Livestock are particularly valuable since they constitute a self-perpetuating asset, thereby generating a regular stream of food and income for women. Moreover, livestock can be accumulated and sold to purchase more valuable assets. However, when livestock becomes commercialized, women may lose control over livestock and their products, with income passing directly to men (Walugembe et al. 2016; Tavenner et al. 2019). Cooperatives have the potential to counter men’s and elites’ appropriation of women’s income, by helping poor female members to organize, commercialize, and keep control over their income. Indeed, evidence shows that cooperatives can be successful in linking female livestock keepers to markets and in providing them with direct access to a steady source of income that they can control (Basu and Scholten 2012).