Webinar: Gender Equality in Agriculture: Leveraging voluntary sustainability standards for women’s empowerment

Speakers: Kathleen Sexsmith, Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, and Cristina Larrea, Sustainability Standards Lead, IISD

Date: April 17, 2019

Description: Gender equality in agriculture remains a challenge. Unequal power structures in rural households mean women often have difficulty accessing food for themselves, even though they are usually the ones responsible for preparing food for their families. This problem persists and has created significant challenges for women’s nutrition, food security, and health in developing countries. Women have also historically faced challenges having the same access to productive agricultural resources as men. Unequal property rights and poor working conditions have also been major challenges for women working in this sector. This is the focus of our report, Leveraging Voluntary Sustainability Standards for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture: A Guide for Development Organizations Based on the Sustainable Development Goals. In this webinar, experts Kathleen Sexsmith, author of the report and Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, and Cristina Larrea, Sustainability Standards Workstream Lead, IISD, highlight some of these concerns and explore how leveraging voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) can support gender equality and women’s empowerment in agriculture.