FAO and women drivers (of change)

From fisheries and aquaculture, where women make up half of the workforce, but are disproportionately engaged in the least stable and lowest paid jobs; to land agriculture, where women will often work the fields, but not own them; to a persistent blindness to the specific nutritional needs of women and girls, or to the gendered experience of climate change and its impacts − there can be no food-secure future without a decisive push for gender equality. 

When it appointed its first Chief Scientist two years ago, FAO chose a woman for the position. The belief that women can be powerful innovators, as well as beneficiaries of innovation, is at the heart of the Organization's scholarship, its practices, and its overall quest to redress legacy imbalances and transform agrifood systems. The first-ever FAO Science and Innovation Strategy which was endorsed by the FAO Council in June 2022 also gives particular attention to women, alongside other under-represented agrifood systems actors.

Our publications record in recent years reflects the adoption of a gendered lens in pursuit of FAO's mandate. Browse the FAO − International Women's Day page or flick through the latest publications catalogue to see how we work to reduce gender inequality by way of knowledge and tech; science-based norms and standards; and capacity development.