But gender inequality putting a brake on sustainable development
Achieving
gender equality and empowering women is not only the right thing to do but is a
critical ingredient in the fight against extreme poverty, hunger and
malnutrition, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today.
Speaking
at a high-level event co-organized by FAO, the European Commission and the
Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union in collaboration with
the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Food
Programme (WFP) and UN Women, the FAO-Director General said that “Women are the
backbone of our work in agriculture,” noting that they comprise 45 percent of
the agricultural labour force in developing countries, with that figure rising
to 60 percent in parts of Africa and Asia.
These
numbers underscore the importance of ensuring that rural women enjoy a level
playing field, according to the FAO Director-General
“It’s
all about opportunity. Evidence shows that when women have opportunities, the
yields on their farms increase -- also their incomes. Natural resources are
better managed. Nutrition is improved. And livelihoods are more secured,” he
said.
This
is why rural women are key players in the effort to achieve all of the
Sustainable Development Goals - but especially SDG2, freeing the world from
hunger and malnutrition - Graziano da Silva added.
Zero
Hunger: No way to get it done without women
Neven
Mimica, European Union Commissioner for International Cooperation and
Development, told event participants: “It is often said that if you educate a
woman, you educate a whole generation. The same is true when we empower women
across the board -not only through access to knowledge, but also to resources,
to equal opportunities, and by giving them a voice.”
Yet
current statistics suggest that the world is falling short on this score,
according to Mimica.
“We
know that agricultural yields would rise by almost a third if women had the
same access to resources as men. As a result, there would be up to 150 million
fewer hungry people in the world. And we know that children have significantly
better prospects for the future when their mothers are healthy, wealthy and
educated. Especially during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life,” he said.
“If
we are serious about putting an end to poverty and hunger once and for all,
then we all need to step up our support for rural women. As an investment in
families, in our communities, in our wider societies, and in our planet’s
future,” the EU Commissioner argued.
Closing
the gender gap
In
her remarks, Slovak Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and current
President of the Council of the European Union, Gabriela Matecná, said that
“the gender gap imposes significant costs on society, in terms of lost
agricultural output, food security and economic growth.”
Although
nearly half the world’s agricultural labour force is female, she noted, women
own less than 20 percent of agricultural land. At the same time, 60 percent of
chronically hungry people on the planet are women or girls.
However
“when women are fully involved, the benefits can be seen immediately: families
are healthier and better fed; their income, savings and investment go up. And
what is true of families is also true of communities and, in the long run, of
whole countries,” Matecná said.
Working
together toward a common goal
Representatives
of UN organizations also participated in today’s event, stressing the
importance of stamping out gender inequality and empowering women with
information, training, tenure, and fair access to resources and to
agricultural, nutrition, and health support services.
“When
you invest in a man, you invest in an individual. When you invest in a woman,
you invest in a community,” noted IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze.
“We
see time and time again that gender equality opens doors for entire communities
to strengthen their food and nutrition security and to improve their social and
economic well-being,” he said, adding: “Empowering rural women is indeed
empowering humanity.”
“It
is only through empowering women farmers that we can unlock the power of global
food systems. Supporting them is essential in creating resilience, building
stronger businesses, and advancing food security in the long term,” Denise
Brown, Director of Emergencies at WFP, told participants.
Maria
Noel Vaeza, Director of Programs at UN Women, said: “Closing the gender gaps in
agriculture can provide multiple development dividends, including gender
equality for rural women, food security and poverty reduction, improved climate
management and peaceful societies.”
Key
facts
• In developing countries, women make
up 45% of the agricultural labour force, ranging from 20% in Latin America to
up to 60% in parts of Africa and Asia.
• In developing countries in Africa and
Asia and the Pacific, women typically work 12-13 hours more than men per week.
• Across all regions women are less
likely than men to own or control land, and their plots often are of poorer
quality. Less than 20% of the world’s landholders are women.
• If women farmers had the same access
to resources as men, the number of hungry people in the world could be reduced
by up to 150 million due to productivity gains.
• Women reinvest up to 90% of their
earnings back into their households - that’s money spent on nutrition, food, healthcare,
school, and income-generating activities - helping to break the cycle of
intergenerational poverty.
Source:
FAO Press Release, FAO Newsroom in Rome
