Thumbnail Image

Gender inequality, risk and vulnerability in the rural economy

Refocusing the public works agenda to take account of economic and social risks

Year of publication 2011

Author Rebecca Holmes and Nicola Jones ;Agriculture and Economic Development Analysis Division

Product type Book (stand-alone)

Series title FAO Agricultural Economics Working Paper

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Smallholder farmers and poor rural households are vulnerable to both economic and social shocks which hamper their participation in agricultural activities. Well-designed social protection programmes can help to reduce both the risk and vulnerability by building resilience to shocks and stresses. Although the gender-specific challenges of women’s largely unequal involvement in agricultural activities are generally well-articulated, social protection policy and programming have not adequately rec ognised the gendered experiences of poverty and vulnerability and the extent to which gender inequality affects both social protection programme design and outcomes. To maximise the linkages between social protection and agricultural growth, and to improve the effectiveness of both for reducing poverty and improving food security, it is imperative that gender-sensitive measures are integrated into policy and programme design and implementation. In this paper we focus on a sub-set of social prote ction programmes - public works schemes - which aim to tackle rural poverty and food insecurity and/or promote agricultural productivity.

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Document
    Land access in rural Africa:Strategies to fight gender inequality
    FAO-Dimitra workshop:Information and communication strategiesto fight gender inequality as regards land accessand its consequences for rural populations in Africa
    2008
    Also available in:
    In September 2008, the FAO-Dimitra project organised its third workshop with all its partners in Brussels, on the theme:“Information and communication strategies to fight gender inequality as regards land access and its consequences for rural populations in Africa”. This document presents a synthesis of the workshop’s activities as well as the different articles which were prepared for the workshop by the participants – the partners of the network and FAO colleagues.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet
    SCALING-UP GENDER-RESPONSIVE RURAL DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS 2016
    Also available in:
    Women are central to the development of rural areas and to national economies. They make up at least 43 percent of the agricultural workforce worldwide and more than 70 percent in some countries. By improving rural women’s access to resources and opportunities, food security and nutrition can be enhanced for current and future generations. To address this challenge, a Joint Programme is currently underway led by FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UN Women and the Wo rld Food Programme (WFP). The Joint Programme focuses on four key goals: improving food and nutrition security, increasing rural women’s incomes, enhancing leadership and participation in rural institutions as well as creating a more gender-responsive policy environment at local, national and international levels. Throughout the pilot period – which began in 2012 and will last five years – some 75 000 rural women and girls are expected to see advances in their agricultural productivity and posit ive changes in their livelihoods. Around 400 000 households and community members are expected to benefit.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Project
    Empowering Rural Women: Combating Gender Inequality in Agriculture - FMM/GLO/138/MUL 2024
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Rural women, who make up a significant proportion of the world's poorest, face compounded challenges due to gender-based discrimination. Particularly, in Africa and Asia, women disproportionately bear the burden of food insecurity and have limited access to resources, services and opportunities, a situation further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prioritizing gender equality in agriculture is essential to effectively address these challenges. Key barriers are faced by rural women at various levels, including the policy, institutional and community levels. Additionally, socio-cultural norms perpetuate gender inequalities by restricting women's mobility and economic opportunities. Recognizing the need to challenge these norms and address the barriers to unleash the economic potential of rural women, the subprogramme focused on expanding women’s socio-economic opportunities by combining gender responsive and transformative interventions in four countries that exhibit pronounced gender inequalities in agriculture: Cambodia, Kenya, Senegal and Uganda. In addition, the gender transformative approach of the Dimitra Clubs (DCs) was integrated in 62 projects of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in ten additional Least Developed Countries.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.