Insights
An in-depth look at FAO’s work on gender equality and women’s empowerment
Women farmers and resilience in the face of climate change
08/03/2017
8th March is International Women’s day and this year’s theme is “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”. In 2017 we are far from living on ‘planet 50-50’ with women holding less than 20% of the land in all the main developing regions o
FTT-Thiaroye Ovens: Clearing the air for women fish processors in Côte d'Ivoire, and beyond
08/12/2016
A simple and relatively inexpensive technology is revolutionizing the way West Africans smoke their fish.
The female face of street food vending in Ghana
30/11/2016
Nanama is one of around 10 000 street food vendors in the city of Accra, Ghana, most of whom are women. Indeed, the face of street food vending is female in much of Africa.
Empowering rural leaders: a leadership school for indigenous women
22/11/2016
“It’s time for us indigenous women to break our silence. It’s time for us to speak up.”
Empowering rural women in Guatemala: “We are improving our family life.”
21/10/2016
Herlinda Caal Tzi is a 48-year-old Q’eqchi’ woman from rural Guatemala. She lives in the village of Panzós, in the country’s Alta Verapaz department, with her husband Tomás Cac, their three sons and two daughters-in-law.
Reaping the rewards of their labour: economic empowerment for women farmers in Nepal
20/10/2016
Chandra Kala Thapa is a thirty-year-old smallholder farmer living in Ranichauri, a village in the Sindhuli District of south-eastern Nepal. Like many women farmers here and in other parts of the developing world, she has faced a number of barriers to impr
Snapshot Liberia: “Saving my money for the future.”
19/10/2016
“I could not write my name. I did not understand how to do my business. I only did the business and was not saving any money.”
Snapshot Liberia: “I now understand my business...”
18/10/2016
“As a market woman, I never understood my business. But I now understand my business because I learnt about the importance of saving money.”
Snapshot Liberia: “I am capable of making an informed decision...”
17/10/2016
“Before the training, I was unable to manage money. I spent carelessly and did not even recognize that there is a future.”
An experiment in land rehabilitation: the catalytic effect of Dimitra Clubs in Niger
12/10/2016
Idrissa and his wife Ramatou live in the village of Tinkirana, in the Tahoua region of Niger. Like most of the men and women of their community and others across sub-Saharan Africa, they struggle with the effects of climate change on a daily basis.
Shared labour, shared rewards: men and women farming together in Sri Lanka
01/09/2016
“I am confident that this groundnut cultivation will help educate my children and earn a substantial income for my family” says Nelka Kumari Ariyasena.
Lightening the load: addressing rural women’s work burden and time poverty
12/07/2016
The division of labour in agriculture often follows traditional patterns. Across a variety of sectors, from smallholder farmers to pastoralists and from forest keepers to fishers, men and women usually have very different—though complementary—roles, with
Building leadership: the rural women of FAO-Dimitra
30/05/2016
Since 2006, Dimitra Clubs have played a crucial role in strengthening rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa, with a special focus on women’s empowerment.
In Bangladesh: three women, three farmers, three tales of success
11/05/2016
Across the developing world, rural women play a crucial role in agriculture and farming. And Bangladesh, where women exceed 50 percent of the agricultural labour force, is no exception.
Gender Equality for a Zero-Hunger Generation
10/03/2016
An interview with Tacko Ndiaye, Senior Gender Officer in the Gender Equity and Rural Development Division at FAO, on the Zero Hunger Challenge Blog.
Flowers in Kyrgyzstan: a beautiful business
07/03/2016
Mahabat Botasheva is the enthusiastic leader of a group of five women in the village of Blagoveshenka in Jalal-Abad province, Kyrgyzstan. Last year, the women started a business in potted flowers. This is the story of how it took root, and how it’s growin
In rural Guatemala, an indigenous woman gets to learn—and lead
07/03/2016
Zoila Esperanza Morán never learned how to read or write. As the eldest girl in a family of two sisters and a brother, she never had a chance to go to school. “Education is not important for women,” her mother would say. And so Zoila spent her childhood h
Empowering Liberian market women
07/03/2016
Across Liberia’s Montserrado County, a special programme is enabling market women to take their businesses — and their lives — to the next level.
Gender equality in land governance: new e-learning course supports implementation of Voluntary Guidelines
08/10/2015
A new e-learning course from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provides specific guidance for ensuring that the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security
Guatemala's Ministry of Agriculture approves first-ever Policy on Gender Equality
19/06/2015
For the first time in its history, Guatemala's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food has a comprehensive Policy on Gender Equality.