Abstract
Although women produce, process, and market much of the world’s food, they are disempowered in agriculture. They are less likely than men to control land or manage farms. Their productivity in farming is less than that of men due to cultural restrictions and lack of resources such as knowledge about best practices and access to credit and technology, as well as the burden of domestic work and unpaid home care. This chapter provides a critical analysis of empowerment efforts by and for women engaged in agriculture in the majority world. Initiatives in agricultural education and women’s cooperatives have empowered women when they attend to the local context including culture and women’s time burden. Empowering women in agriculture has the potential to address many of the United Nations Strategic Development Goals, not only promoting gender equality but also reducing poverty and hunger.
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Gibbons, J.L. (2023). “Women Can’t Manage Farms”: Empowerment of Women in Agriculture. In: Mayer, CH., et al. Women's Empowerment for a Sustainable Future. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25924-1_9
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