Empowering Women: Agriculture, Education, Entrepreneurship Fall 2023 Report
What Is Our Opportunity? “When rural women have access to resources, services, and economic opportunities, they become a driving force to end hunger, malnutrition, and rural poverty.” -United Nations THE NEED Gender inequality denies women their voices and devalues their work. From a mother living in one room with dirt floors who is struggling to feed her family to a professional woman yearning to be respected at financial or educational institutions in Africa, women fight global gender inequality. Especially for women living in poverty, gender inequality is yet another challenge in a long list of obstacles to achieving independence and sustainable livelihoods. Agriculture, poverty, and women: Three out of four people living in extreme poverty in Africa are farmers, surviving on one or two meals a day. In sub-Saharan Africa, women account for half or more of the agricultural labor force but are less likely to own the land or have decision-making power to improve their income and feed their children. ► Women farmers can reduce hunger: If women had the same access to productive resources as men, their increased yields would raise total agricultural output in developing countries by up to 4%, which would reduce the number of people living in hunger in the world by 100-150 million1. ► Women farmers can improve livelihoods for children: When women are seen as incomeearners and have more influence over economic decisions, their families allocate more income to food, health, education, children’s clothing, and children’s nutrition2. ► Women farmers can lift millions out of poverty: Improving gender equality is strongly tied to higher income per capita and faster economic growth within countries. When more women have access to equal economic opportunities, they can lift themselves, their children, and their neighbors out of poverty3.
1 FAO, 2011. The State of Food and Agriculture: Women in Agriculture. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i2050e.pdf 2 Ibid 3 World Economic Forum, 2017. Women’s economic empowerment is the smart thing to do. What's stopping us?
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/01/womens-economic-empowerment-is-the-smart-and-right-thing-to-do-whats-stopping-us/ 101 N. Wacker Drive, Suite 1150, Chicago, IL 60606 T 800.793.9455 W opportunity.org
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