The roadblocks preventing girls from entering the field of agriculture are creating a growing problem for food security and agricultural production, particularly in low and middle income countries. Analyses of agricultural education and training institutions have found that women “are underrepresented as students, instructors, extension agents, and researchers, and agricultural innovation processes are hardly ever aimed at women.”[1] This underrepresentation is juxtaposed with evidence from the World Bank which shows that women make up an estimated 43% of the agricultural workforce, and that equalizing women’s access to resources could increase agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5% to 4%.[2]

To increase gender equity and educational success for women in the agricultural education pipeline, we must discover and plug the drop-out points with gender mainstreaming policies and practices. As a focus group participant in Cambodia stated, “If we want to build women’s capacity, we need to focus on long-term training, on getting degrees.” Institutions must examine and implement policies and practices to recruit and retain women as students and faculty.

InnovATE’s Work on Gender in AET

Thematic Studies:

• Lost in the Education Roadmap: Gender Roadblocks from Primary School to Agricultural Vocational Education
• Mainstreaming Gender in AET: Overcoming Challenges through Policies and Practices
• Muslim Women in Agricultural Education and the Labor Force
• Thematic Brief: Gender, Higher Education and AET

Good Practices:

• Ensuring Education for the Girl Child: Best Practices in Menstrual Hygiene Management
• Cultivating Mentorships for Women in Agricultural Sciences Higher Education Programs
• Gender Sensitive Curricula and Pedagogical Practice in Agricultural Education
• Funding: Supporting Women in Agriculture-Related Higher Education

Reports and Presentations:

• Strategies and Tools for Integrating Gender into Agriculture and Nutrition Curriculum: Symposium Report
• Symposium Discussion “The Why of Gender”

Tools:

• Verbal Consent Form for Gender Equity Study
• Student Gender Equity Focus Group Guide
• Administration and Faculty Gender Equity Interview Guide
• Gender Equity Scoping Questions

Training Modules:

• Teaching Gender to Secondary and Tertiary Students
• Gender in Agriculture Education and Training

Blog Posts:

• Empowering Women for Success in Agriculture
• Starting Point for Addressing Infrastructure-Related Safety Concerns for Women in Agricultural Education and Training
• Changing the Perception of Agriculture for More Women’s Participation
• Breaking Barriers to Girls’ Education: Menstrual Hygiene Management

[1] Beintema, N.M. (2006). Participation of female agricultural scientists in developing countries. Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI). http://www.asti.cgiar.org/pdf/WomenResearchers.pdf

[2] World Bank. (2012). Gender equality and development. World Development Report 2012. https://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWDR2012/Resources/7778105-1299699968583/7786210-1315936222006/Complete-Report.pdf