Global Commitment

Commit to Grow Equality is a global process to enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment in agrifood systems through financing and partnerships. Bringing together governments, philanthropy, the private sector, United Nations and other multilateral agencies, civil society organizations and others, the process aims to unite key stakeholders to commit investments and partnerships to make agrifood systems work better for women, and transform them in the process.

Women in agrifood systems

Women are at the centre of our agrifood systems, playing a fundamental role in agriculture and off-farm segments. Yet they face a wide array of gaps and barriers, structural inequalities and discriminatory social norms that hold them back, reduce their potential and relegate them to some of the most vulnerable positions in the sector. Gender inequalities also make women particularly prone to suffer from shocks and crises.

If women were to contribute and be compensated on an equal scale with their male counterparts, the benefits would be felt not only by their households and communities but on a global scale – boosting economies, reducing hunger, increasing dietary diversity and strengthening resilience.

It is critical to address the challenges that hold women back in agrifood systems. Catalyzing investment to tackle both gaps in assets, resources and services, as well as discriminatory gender-based social norms, is crucial for eradicating hunger and malnutrition. Financing for gender equality plays a key role in creating inclusive, sustainable agrifood systems.

The recent endorsement of the Committee on World Food Security’s Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment in the Context of Food Security and Nutrition and other initiatives, such as the United Nations negotiations on Financing for Development, provide a critical opportunity to accelerate progress towards gender equality in agrifood systems, in line with Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 5.

FAO's call to action: Commit to Grow Equality

While actions to enhance gender equality and women’s empowerment have increasingly been mainstreamed into development programmes and financing mechanisms that focus on agriculture and rural development, only a small fraction of programming treats gender as a fundamental issue.

We believe it is time for the next step. Commit to Grow Equality is the first initiative that shifts the spotlight directly onto the role of women in agrifood systems. It calls for stakeholders to make gender equality and women’s empowerment the key objective of agrifood development interventions.

It invites stakeholders to consider: Which concrete commitments can we bring to the table to make a tangible difference in the lives of women and girls?

How can we commit to grow equality?

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