The $1 Trillion Dollar Question - How to achieve gender equality in agrifood systems?
Washington, DC - In a seminal report released last week, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has provided a comprehensive picture of the status of women working across agrifood systems. Released last week, the ‘Status of Women in Agrifood Systems’ report contains extensive new data and analyses about the challenges women face, particularly in rural areas. Today, demonstrating support in a “whole-of-government” effort to advance gender equity and equality, senior officials from the White House and across key United States government agencies joined FAO to discuss their priorities and the strategic investments needed to achieve the shared goal of gender equality and women’s empowerment in agrifood systems.
Participants in today’s event include Samantha Power, Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); Jennifer Klein, Assistant to the President and White House Gender Policy Council Director; Xochitl Torres Small, Under Secretary, USDA; Wendy Chun-Hoon, Director, Department of Labor Women's Bureau; Dina Esposito, Global Food Crisis Coordinator, USAID; Cary Fowler, Special Envoy for Global Food Security, U.S. Department of State. In addition, Gloria Steele, Chief Operating Officer, CARE and C.D. Glin, President, The Pepsico Foundation provided civil society and private sector perspectives. Moderating the event was Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General. Lauren Phillips, FAO Deputy Director of FAO’s Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, provided a presentation of the report findings.
Globally, agrifood systems - from food production through processing and distribution - are a significant source of income for women. In fact, 36 percent of working women around the world are employed in agrifood systems. The new FAO report shows that persistent gender gaps in agrifood systems underpin rising food and nutrition insecurity for millions of women. For example, women engaged in wage employment in agriculture earn 82 cents for every dollar that men earn. Their roles tend to be marginalized and their working conditions are likely to be irregular, informal, part-time, low skilled, or labor-intensive. Women also have less secure tenure over land, less access to credit and training, and work with technologies designed for men.
FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol commented, “Globally, more than a third of working women are employed in agrifood systems. It’s time to recognize their contributions and to make these agrifood systems work better for women. It is simply unacceptable for women’s roles to be marginalized while they still lack access to land, inputs, finance and digital technology. “
According to ‘The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems’, tackling gender inequalities and empowering women in agrifood systems would have significant consequences for the whole of society in terms of economic growth, decreased hunger, and increased resilience to shocks, like climate emergencies and conflicts. Closing the gender gap in farm productivity and the wage gap in agricultural employment would increase global gross domestic product by nearly $1 trillion and reduce the number of food-insecure people by 45 million.
The United States is a consistent advocate for gender equality and women’s empowerment around the world. In 2021, the White House issued its first-ever National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, which states that “in order to mainstream gender equity and equality across our domestic and foreign policy, we will elevate gender in strategic planning and budgeting, policy development, management and training, and monitoring and evaluation efforts.” In January of this year, the U.S. Department of State issued the U.S. government’s first-ever interagency Strategy on Global Women’s Economic Security (2023), outlining priorities to support women and girls around the world to fully, meaningfully, and equality contribute to, and benefit from, economic growth and global prosperity. USAID affirmed in its 2023 Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Policy that “gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment are fundamental for the realization of human rights and key to effective and sustainable development outcomes.” Furthermore, USAID is committed to data-driven and evidence-based approaches to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment across sectors, including to improve food security, climate resilience, and economic growth.
During today's event, Administrator Samantha Power announced the launch of 'Generating Resilience and Opportunities for Women' (GROW), a new USAID commitment to tackle urgent challenges women are facing in food and water systems, including climate change, while unlocking opportunities for women to advance economically – ultimately benefiting their families, communities, and societies at large through improved food security, resilience, and economic growth.
The U.S. government is a key supporter of FAO’s mandate to end hunger globally. In 2022, the United States was the leading resource partner to FAO. With USD 448 million in contributions, an almost 200 percent increase versus 2021, the United States of America provided the highest-ever annual voluntary contribution to FAO.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022-31 seeks to support the 2030 Agenda through the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind. With 195 members - 194 countries and the European Union, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.
Additional information:
Full report: The status of women in agrifood systems
FAO Policy on Gender Equality 2020-2030