Resource information
WLE’s Gender Strategy sets out a path for the program to engage in pioneering research that generates findings and catalyzes action to address the gender-based challenges facing women and men, who are dependent on water, land and ecosystems for their livelihoods, food, nutrition and water security, and incomes. The strategy starts out and tests the hypothesis that gender equity promotes sustainable agriculture in vibrant ecosystems. It then builds on work undertaken within the CGIAR system and elsewhere, by applying cutting-edge gender equality and women’s empowerment frameworks, and innovative research approaches and methods. Knowledge generated will improve WLE interventions at the policy, programming and community implementation levels.
Grounded within this strategy, we hypothesize that women, in general, are better custodians and natural resource stewards than their counterparts. Addressing this null hypothesis will form part of the research effort of the strategy, and will bring greater insights into the future role of women in shaping vibrant ecosystems, and food- and water-secure communities.
The strategy should be viewed as a ‘living’ document, which will require adjustments as new evidence emerges of the role of women in resource management. WLE is committed to ensuring that the gender component, which falls under the Gender, Poverty and Institutions crosscutting theme, is well resourced with financial targets to be achieved along with appropriate human skills. We believe that by elevating the role and status of women in the management and planning of sustainable food production systems through a natural resource lens, we will be in a position to ensure a food-secure world within vibrant landscapes.
