Focus on strategies that could enhance the economic empowerment of rural women.
Key contributors to global economies, rural women play a critical role in both developed and developing nations — they enhance agricultural and rural development, improve food security and can help reduce poverty levels in their communities. In some parts of the world, women represent 70 per cent of the agricultural workforce, comprising 43 per cent of agricultural workers worldwide. Estimates reveal that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20-30 per cent, lifting 100-150 million out of hunger. (Photo: UN Women/David Snyder) Gender inequality and limited access to credit, healthcare and education, however, have posed a number of challenges for rural women. Further, the global food and economic crisis and climate change have only aggravated the situation. It is estimated, for instance, that 60 per cent of chronically hungry people are women and girls. Yet, the Food and Agriculture Organization estimates reveal that pr...
