Putting a spotlight on the women who keep our agrifood systems running
Explore how the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 celebrates the 42% of the agrifood workforce who are women, and how closing the gender wage and productivity gap could boost global GDP by $1 trillion.
Did you know that women farmers touch every part of our lives and are involved in every aspect of our agrifood systems?
They are producers, fishers, pastoralists, processors, traders, foresters, among others.
They hold and share traditional knowledge, preserve and sustain biodiversity, work in agricultural sciences and are agrifood entrepreneurs.
Their roles are essential in providing the food that supports healthy diets and keeps us nourished.
Yet, despite their essential roles, deep inequalities affect their access to resources, skills and opportunities.
The International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 recognizes their contributions across agrifood systems and explores ways to build a more equitable future where women farmers can thrive.
Let’s celebrate the women behind our food and explore the challenges and opportunities they navigate.
Agrifood systems are a major employer of women globally. In 2023, agrifood systems employed 44% of working women and 37% of working men.
In many countries, these systems are a more vital source of livelihoods for women than they are for men. Women are involved in every stage - from production and processing to the distribution and trade that brings food to our tables.
In 2023, women made up 42% of the global agrifood workforce. However, despite being nearly equal in numbers to men, they disproportionately face precarious jobs and limited rights, often working in marginalized and labor-intensive conditions.
Beyond their involvement across agrifood value chains, women also perform critical domestic and care work that sustains rural communities.
Across every continent, women drive our agrifood systems. Explore the map below to discover key statistics from a selection of different regions.
Behind each number are women farmers, fishers, pastoralists and entrepreneurs feeding their families and communities. Celebrate their contributions and explore their stories through the 100 Women Heroes initiative.
Despite their essential roles, women in agrifood systems face a gap between the resources they have and those they need. Today, inequalities and the pressures of a changing climate place a heavy, often hidden burden on women farmers.
Women farmers typically work on smaller plots of land than men. Even when they work on plots of the same size, they face a 24% gender gap in land productivity due to structural discrimination and unequal access to capital, education, and technology.
When extreme heat or droughts strike, women’s workloads increase the most while their agricultural productivity declines. Each day of extreme high temperature reduces the total value of crops produced by women by 3% compared to men.
Globally, the unpaid care work performed by women and girls contributes at least USD 10.8 trillion to the economy annually. This is a domestic burden that often locks rural women out of the education, training, and opportunities they need to advance.
Gender inequality remains a costly barrier to progress in agrifood systems. Investing in women’s empowerment can unlock meaningful economic growth. Globally, women in wage employment in agrifood systems still earn just 78 cents for every dollar earned by men. But if we close the agrifood gender gap in wages and farm productivity, we could:
The International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 is a global call for action across agrifood systems. It is a call on governments and their partners to strengthen women’s land rights, support the development and implementation of gender-responsive agrifood policies and increase investments to empower women farmers. It is a call on the private sector to co-design technologies adapted to women’s needs and invest in women-led cooperatives. It is a call to ensure quality and safe employment conditions for women working in agrifood systems.
For the public, your role is essential - keep informed, support women farmers and women-led local markets and their products, and share this story using .
By promoting the diverse voices of women farmers, we can move toward equitable and sustainable agrifood systems that leave no one behind.
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