International Women’s Day

| March 6, 2017

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The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day on March 8 is “Women in the changing world of work.” This theme recognizes that many occupations employ fewer women than men, and that working women generally earn less than their male counterparts. In agriculture, the story is in some ways the same, and in other ways different.

Women are well-represented in agriculture, although they often earn less than their male counterparts. This may be due to the types of crops they grow or because they have poorer access and control over land, inputs, and information. In many areas, women generally grow crops for home consumption, while men grow crops for income. And in many areas, women do not have the right to control land. Furthermore, for women, farming work is typically just one of the many tasks they must balance during the day, while they look after children, household chores, and cooking.

Learn more about the challenges facing rural women and share some of their success stories from UN Women. http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/rural-women-food-poverty