FAO.org

Women play key roles in rural economies, where the fight against hunger and poverty is most pressing. They are also central to family food security and nutrition. However, compared to their male counterparts, rural women typically face multiple gender-based constraints – particularly in their access to productive resources (e.g. land, technologies, training and services) and economic opportunities (e.g. access to markets and decent employment) – which prevent them from becoming equally competitive economic players. Gender equality can be foster through practical policy measures. The Gender in Agricultural Policies Assessment Tool (GAPo) is a toolkit that FAO developed to support national governments and their development partners to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment in the agriculture sector.  Its purpose is to assist a core group of stakeholders to carry out a participatory process of diagnosis, analysis and reflection on gender equality gaps in policies and implementati on, with a view towards outlining concrete policy steps to address those gaps.