Non 2021, agri-food systems employed 40 percent of women globally, almost the same percentage as men. Yet the conditions of their work are incredibly different from that of their male colleagues: work regulated by informal, part-time, underpaid, labor-intensive and highly vulnerable contracts. Women’s incomes are then the most affected by the extreme heat and, upstream, by a unequal access to land, resources and decisions. Because of this FAO has dedicated 2026 to peasant women: to finally put gender equality in the agricultural sector at the center and promote female leadership and empowerment in agri-food systems.
FAO dedicates 2026 to women farmers, who are indispensable and still penalized
Recent FAO reports have assessed the extent of gender inequality and the disproportionate climate risks to which women are exposed. But also the upstream barriers that limit women’s productivity, income, access to resources and resilience.
For example, female farmers generally work on smaller plots of land than men. But even when they manage farms of the same size as their male colleagues, the gender gap in land productivity is serious, rated at 24 percent. But the gap is also at the individual level: women employed in paid jobs in agri-food systems earn 78 cents for every dollar earned by men.
The climate disadvantage
A 2024 FAO report, “The Unjust Climate,” also addresses the theme of “climate disadvantage” for women in agriculture. Drawing on data from 24 countries in five regions of the world, the report integrates socioeconomic indicators with georeferenced climate data. In summary, climate stressors influence the incomes, labor allocation and adaptation strategies of rural populations particularly for vulnerable groups such as women, youth and people living in poverty.
FAO research also shows that every day of extremely high temperatures reduces the total value of crops produced by women farmers by 3 percent compared to that of men. The 1°C increase in long-term average temperatures is associated with a 34 percent reduction in the total income of female-headed familiescompared to that of male-headed families.
Education, employment, income: gender disparities in the agricultural sector
FAO also considers the impact of unpaid care work performed by women and girls: it contributes at least $10.8 trillion to the global economy per year. Reducing gender disparities in employment, education and income could eliminate 52 percent of the food insecurity gap, which is highest among women. In essence, Empowering rural women through targeted development interventions could increase global GDP by $1 trillion, raising the incomes of 58 million more people and strengthening the resilience of 235 million people.