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Promoting the Leadership of Women in Producers’ Organizations

Year of publication 2015

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 72 p.

Author Soma Chakrabarti (FAO ESP); Dubravka Bojic (FAO ESD); Zoe Bienvenu (FAO ESP); Carol Djeddah

Publisher FAO/IFAD ;

Product type Book (stand-alone)

ISBN No ISBN

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) This paper explores aspects of promoting rural women’s leadership in producers’ organizations (POs). Despite the vast amount of work that women perform in the agriculture sector, their role remains largely unrecognized. The concerns and issues of women farmers are scarcely heard at the local, national and global levels. One reason for this silence is that there are not enough women in leadership positions to be able to represent the interests of rural women. This shortage is compounded by women’ s lack of voice in decision-making processes at all levels − from households to rural organizations − and in policymaking. Ensuring that women have a greater voice is not only a matter of gender equality. Women’s leadership, especially in POs, is essential for increasing the production of smallholder agriculture, as women make massive contributions to the sector. Women leaders can advocate for women’s better access to and control over assets and productive inputs, thus boosting their productivit y and incomes, leading to food security and increasing their employment opportunities and real wages. This paper has three main purposes: (i) to identify relevant aspects that relate to the promotion of rural women’s leadership within POs; (ii) to identify related good practices that are implemented by IFAD, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and their partners; and (iii) to present key messages and recommendations for guiding the design and implementation of inte rventions in support of women’s leadership. The analysis is clustered around the following three dimensions: 1) PO environment 2) PO arrangements and mechanisms 3) Individual capacities and behaviours.

Language English

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