Interventions to mitigate climate change while enhancing farmers' adaptive capacity present an opportunity to make substantial improvements in the lives of rural men and women, while contributing to a more equitable rural society. Given that gender norms and climate change impacts are context-specific, these interventions must be tailored to each setting. This study uses survey data from Olopa, Guatemala, and Santa Rita, Honduras, to quantify the difference in empowerment between Climate Smart Village (CSV) participants and non-participants, the extent to which this varied between male and female farmers, and the consistency of the pattern across sites. The results provide compelling evidence that being a CSV participant is associated with modestly higher empowerment, as measured by the Gender Empowerment Index (GEI-CSV), with similar differences for both male and female farmers at both locations. Individual domains of empowerment show discernible differences between groups of farmers: male farmers in Olopa appeared to exhibit lower economic advancement than did either females from Olopa or farmers of either sex in Santa Rita. The findings underscore the importance of considering the specific needs of men and women when planning and implementing climate policies.
This study examines the relationship between the green transition and female employment in Rwanda's construction sector, influenced by sustainability policies such as the Green Building Code. Using a firm-level survey conducted in Kigali in 2024, we analyze data from 545 firms across the construction value chain, employing a Green Index to quantify firms' sustainability practices. The empirical analysis relies on OLS IV estimation to address potential endogeneity concerns. Our findings indicate a positive association between green practices and female employment shares, particularly in permanent roles, suggesting that sustainability-driven transformations can contribute to more equitable labor market outcomes. The study further highlights sectoral heterogeneity, with supplier and construction firms showing the strongest employment gains for women. Government initiatives enhance these effects, highlighting the importance of coherent policy frameworks. However, the role of managerial attitudes remains unclear, indicating a need for further research on organizational dynamics. The analysis also highlights disparities in access to green training, with female-managed firms less likely to receive training, potentially limiting their ability to benefit from green transitions. These findings provide insights for policymakers aiming to align green transition policies with gender-inclusive economic development in Rwanda and the broader context of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
The study investigates the composition, changes, and determinants of five domains of the Women's Empowerment Index in Agriculture (WEAI) so that domain-specific policy recommendations can be forwarded. The analysis is based on three rounds of nationally representative Bangladesh Integrated Household Surveys (BIHS) covering 2011/12-2018/19 comprising 10,107 observations and applying Tobit models. Results reveal that indices of all domains of WEAI increased significantly over time, as expected. Among socio-economic factors, income sources significantly improve the production, resources, and time domains; education significantly improves the resources, leadership, and time domains; and institutions/infrastructure significantly improve all domains. Asset and/or owned land has no influence on any domain of women's empowerment. The production environment significantly and negatively influences all domains, while shocks exert significantly negative influences on the production, income, and resources domains. Female education and female household headship significantly improve the resources, leadership, and time domains. Policy implications include targeted interventions to increase income mainly from agricultural sources, improve female education, and promote access to institutions such as Social Safety Net Programs (SSNP), Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and credit to strengthen empowerment across all domains. Additionally, social insurance mechanisms can be introduced to support households withstand shocks.
Women in developing countries like India face significant financial, infrastructural, and cultural barriers in accessing entrepreneurial resources and opportunities. In such constrained settings, digital platforms can be an effective means to facilitate women's participation in income-generating activities. This paper critically explores the contributions of online-platform based entrepreneurial initiatives proliferating under the Common Service Centers (CSCs) Scheme in India toward expanding capabilities and achieved functionings for rural women entrepreneurs. In doing so, it draws upon the Capability Approach developed by Amartya Sen and analyzes how rural women entrepreneurs are not only constrained but actively negotiate and claim the digital interface to manage their businesses. Based on data collected through in-depth interviews with 120 female and 60 male Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) across three districts in the State of West Bengal in India, this paper maps how rural women entrepreneurs are able to convert basic inputs/resources into enhanced capabilities and achieve complex functionings, albeit to varying degrees, overcoming archetypal challenges. The findings are valuable for policyscapes as they show how the CSCs can be leveraged to empower rural women.
Income inequality among farmers remains a significant global challenge, particularly for poverty eradication efforts. With shifting gender roles and the expansion of information and communication technology (ICT), investigating whether women's empowerment can alleviate income inequality from an ICT perspective is critical to ensure shared prosperity in rural areas. This study analyzes panel data from 2166 farm households in six counties across Yunnan, Shaanxi, and Guizhou provinces, collected in 2018 and 2021. Fixed-effects regression is employed to quantify the impacts of women's empowerment and ICT on rural income disparities, and, to examine ICT's mediating role between women's empowerment and income inequality. Results show that enhancing women's agency significantly reduces income inequality and facilitates ICT adoption, while ICT adoption independently mitigates income disparities. In male out-migration households, ICT serves as a key transmission channel connecting women's empowerment to reduced income gaps. The inequality-reducing effect is more pronounced in agricultural households. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers. In the context of male out-migration, strengthening women's empowerment not only raises household income but, when combined with expanded ICT access, further narrows income disparities. This study underscores the synergistic potential of integrating women's empowerment initiatives with digital inclusion strategies to foster rural economic equity.
Despite the central role of women in rice production and post-harvest activities in C & ocirc;te d'Ivoire, they face significant obstacles in accessing mechanical threshing. This study aims to assess the contribution of unequal access to mechanization, particularly mechanical threshing, to the gender gap in rice productivity. Using data from a World Bank-commissioned baseline survey of the rice sector in C & ocirc;te d'Ivoire and an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition, we estimate the share of the gap attributable to endowments and yields. The results indicate an average gender gap in rice productivity of 0.108 logarithmic units or 11.4%, with male-managed plots exhibiting higher productivity than female-managed plots. Mechanical threshing explains approximately 3-4% points of the observed 11% yield difference. However, there were virtually no differences in rice yields associated with mechanical threshing between men and women. These results suggest that differences in access to productive resources, including mechanical threshing, are statistically associated with the observed gender productivity gap. Our results recommend an agricultural policy that targets women's equitable access to mechanization.
Literature has extensively examined the impact of armed conflict on agriculture, largely emphasizing its negative effects on rural economies and household decision-making. However, fewer studies explore how conflict reshapes agricultural production systems and intra-household decision-making from a gender perspective. This study analyzes the relationship between armed conflict, cattle expansion, and women's production decision-making in Colombia during one of the most intense phases of the internal conflict (2001-2012), a period marked by widespread violence, forced displacement, and agricultural frontier expansion. Using a dynamic panel data model (Arellano-Bond), we estimate the effects of armed conflict on cattle expansion at the municipal level. In addition, discrete choice and logistic regression models examine gender-differentiated patterns of production decision-making within Agricultural Production Units. Results indicate that higher levels of violence are associated with increased cattle production and a greater likelihood of women's participation in production decisions. These patterns reflect conflict-induced disruptions to household structures and labor allocation, particularly in rural areas where men were disproportionately affected by lethal violence, forced recruitment, and displacement. Increased female involvement should not be interpreted as evidence of changes in formal ownership, which are not captured by the data. Instead, the findings point to adaptive shifts in gender roles within agricultural systems, including traditionally male-dominated cattle production.
Existing frameworks and tools for women's economic empowerment (WEE) put stress on the underlying complexities of defining it in dynamic contexts. Missing in these frameworks are the burgeoning use of digital technology in improving WEE, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we identify this gap in available WEE frameworks, and propose ways to account for dynamic risks and external shocks, while recognizing the growing importance of digital technology in improving WEE. In the proposed framework, we integrate the missing domains for an "ecosystem of support" approach for WEE, to create an enabling environment for shock resilient enterprises, in the context of agriculture and forest-based economies, particularly in low-income countries. The framework constitutes of five domains-social-cultural, economic, policy, technological, and environmental-that are interlinked and essential for strengthening WEE. It underscores the potential of digital and financial technology and the necessity for risk preparedness and management in the face of climatic and other external shocks. Underlying this framework is the approach of co-production processes in understanding and addressing gender-based barriers and co-designing the ecosystem of support. We showcase learnings from Nepal which demonstrates applicability of the framework as an analytical tool to understand the challenges of creating an ecosystem of support for WEE.
This paper examines how structurally marginalized actors in Mbinga District, Tanzania-widows, divorced women, landless married women, and youth-engage in informal coffee trade (magoma) amid gendered, generational, and institutional exclusions in the formal cooperative system. Drawing on 48 in-depth interviews and 16 focus group discussions (84 focus group participants), conducted across four villages, this article examines how gendered resistance is enacted within informal coffee markets. Findings show that while informal trade is widespread among all farmer categories, it is especially consequential for those facing barriers such as limited land rights, delayed cooperative payments, and male-dominated decision-making. Widows used informal channels openly through inherited land, divorced women rebuilt livelihoods after losing marital resources, landless married women engaged in covert selling under household surveillance, and youth used informal markets to navigate generational exclusion. Through groups, informal buyers provided timely liquidity, discretion, and flexible quantities, embedding informal trade within moral and relational economies. The study introduces the concept of "intersectional informality" to explain how overlapping inequalities shape not only exclusion from formal value chains but also varied forms of everyday negotiation and resistance. Policy implications highlight the need for cooperative reforms grounded in differentiated lived realities.
Despite the progressive ethos of hackathons, significant gender disparities persist in participation and skill application, mirroring entrenched inequities within STEM fields and broader labor markets. This study critically examines how these inequalities manifest in the use of generative AI tools, an increasingly salient component of hackathon projects. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) alongside theories of stereotype threat, role congruity, and gender socialization, our research interrogates whether, why, and how men and women differ in their adoption and usage patterns of AI during hackathons. Our findings, based on a robust quantitative dataset from one of the world's largest hackathons, underscore persistent gendered gaps in tasks requiring advanced technical skills such as coding, prototyping, and API integration, suggesting that generative AI may not be the great equalizer it is often purported to be. By contrast, minimal or reversed gender differences emerge in creative or strategic activities (e.g., brainstorming, market research), reinforcing the gendered division of labor even within innovation-driven environments. We discuss these results in light of systemic barriers, including institutionalized biases in skill valuation, peer networks, and self-efficacy formation. Finally, we propose evidence-based interventions, including mentorship, inclusive event design, and more radical structural reforms, to challenge the existing gendered hierarchies within hackathon participation and AI adoption.
The primary objective of the article is to analyze the probability of female entrepreneurs engaging in serial crowdfunding activities. This article contributes to the discussion on gender dynamics in serial crowdfunding by examining persistence differences between female and male entrepreneurs. The dataset used for this analysis is sourced from Kickstarter, a prominent reward-based crowdfunding platform. The final sample consists of 35,891 projects. A logit model is used to analyze the relationship between the gender of entrepreneurs and the likelihood of launching another project. The primary model examines the third attempt as a function of female entrepreneurs. Further analysis explores the moderating effect of project performance on the relationship between third attempts and female entrepreneurs. Although female entrepreneurs are less likely to pursue subsequent projects after a successful effort, this does not necessarily indicate lower persistence compared to their male counterparts. Instead, it may reflect a strategic choice to concentrate on developing their successful venture rather than launching a new crowdfunding initiative. The results highlight the influence of gender stereotypes on female entrepreneurs' behavior toward reward-based serial crowdfunding, suggesting that these stereotypes play a significant role in shaping their decisions and actions in this domain.
This article draws on participatory action research with adolescent girls in an urban informal settlement in Nairobi to explore how they engage with ICT-based sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) platforms and to highlight considerations for enhancing digital inclusion. Seven focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with 15 girls aged 10-17 years, complemented by 18 key informant interviews with SRHR platform implementers. Participatory methods such as journaling, vignettes, storytelling, transect walks, and interactive platform review were integrated into the FGDs. Using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis, the study analyzed adolescents' experiences of four SRHR platforms designed for their age group (Iamfree2.com, Nia Teen Magazine, Shujaaz, and Love Matters). Findings reveal that adolescents' engagement is shaped by age, language, literacy, interactivity, and mode of communication. Older girls valued interactive digital platforms and written content, while younger girls faced challenges due to limited literacy and digital skills, preferring simpler, relatable language mixing English, Kiswahili, and Sheng. Non-digital media such as magazines and comics were especially important in contexts of poor connectivity. It concludes that meaningful engagement of adolescents particularly younger girls who are often excluded from design processes is essential to ensure digital SRHR platforms are accessible, relevant, and transformative.
This article aims to explore the complex relationship between feminist movements in the region and the state's efforts to suppress their activities, both in physical and online spaces. It problematizes the incidence and place of digital platforms in the political dispute in specific authoritarian contexts. The objective is to analyze the role of the feminist dispute in the Cuban digital space in the face of state control. A qualitative methodology was employed, drawing on the Cuban case study and digital ethnography, which utilized documentary literature reviews, in-depth interviews, and social network analysis techniques. The main results indicate a strategic use of social networks to promote demands and pressure, challenge the State, and foster feminist pedagogy within civil society. Digital spaces serve as a form of resistance in the face of challenges and fears associated with protest in physical spaces.
To address the issue of unequal access to rural extension services, the introduction of women-to-women extension and advisory services has been considered effective. However, men continue to dominate the agricultural extension workforce. By examining the norms of femininity and masculinity within agricultural extension organizations, this study aims to explore the gender differences and implications for its agricultural extension workers. Using a systematic literature review method, this study analyzes 38 studies retrieved from Web of Science, Scopus, Emerald Insight, Science Direct, ProQuest databases and grey literature. Our study highlights that existing gender differences, such as career bias, conflicting expected attributes, gender neutrality and stereotyped roles, have a detrimental effect on women extension workers. These biases are compounded by complexities such as difficulties in translating gender policies, insufficient focus on gender equality, work-family conflicts, safety issues and intersections with other norms and subjective identities that can subordinate their positions. Efforts to support equal opportunities, provide training and create supportive working cultures for women, along with increasing awareness to reduce gender stereotypes, can help foster a more inclusive agricultural extension system and enhance the working environment for women extension workers.
This study examines how young Pakistani women experience and negotiate identity through their use of Bumble, a dating application that positions women as initiators in online interactions. Situated within a culturally conservative society, the research addresses a gap in existing literature by exploring how digital platforms intersect with gender expectations in Pakistan. Using a feminist and techno-feminist lens, the study investigates how technology mediates autonomy, agency, and resistance to traditional norms. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 12 women who have used Bumble, the research highlights how the platform provides users with a sense of control, safety, and space for authentic self-expression. Participants valued the app's design, particularly its women-first messaging feature, which challenged prevailing social expectations around female passivity in romantic contexts. However, the study also reveals key concerns: stigma around dating app use, discomfort with hidden or deceptive user intentions, and experiences of harassment. These findings reflect both the possibilities and limitations of app-mediated empowerment in a patriarchal environment. The study concludes with a call for greater public understanding of online dating in Pakistan, along with the need for stronger in-app safety mechanisms and culturally sensitive design practices.
Mobile phone-based Digital Agricultural Advisory Services (DAAS) offer cost-effective approaches for delivering agricultural extension to smallholder farmers, however, gender dynamics influence access and use patterns. Using focus group discussions with 49 women and 50 men farmers, complemented by key informant interviews with agricultural officers, we examined mobile phone ownership patterns and usage for agricultural purposes in rural Uganda. The findings reveal that while 94-98% of households own mobile phones, smartphone ownership remains limited (34%), with pronounced gender disparities. Both women and men use mobile phones to access information on agricultural inputs, markets, weather forecasts, and extension services through various platforms. However, there are institutional barriers, such as limited financial resources for devices and data bundles, poor network coverage, and restricted access to electricity. Gender norms further constrain women's access, with lower digital literacy, inability to read in English, exacerbated lack of resources, time poverty, and reliance on men's phones. To enhance inclusive access to digital agricultural services, we recommend integrating digital literacy programs targeting women, developing multilingual platforms, and adopting hybrid extension models that combine digital tools with face-to-face support. These interventions are essential to ensure equitable participation in Uganda's digital agricultural transformation.
Efforts to promote women's participation, benefits, and empowerment in aquaculture entrepreneurship face persistent challenges rooted in patriarchal norms, policy frameworks, and local contexts. This article investigates how women's entrepreneurship, supported by targeted programs, can help address these entrenched barriers. To do so, we employ the multi-level perspective (MLP) framework, which examines women's entrepreneurial "niches" in relation to the dominant "regime" of local policies, public action, and gender norms. Our central aim is to understand how supporting women's entrepreneurship can drive systemic change within aquaculture. Using a governance framework, we analyze strategies applied in two pilot interventions in Bangladesh, seeking to identify the limitations of current governance approaches and to propose strategies for establishing a more gender-equitable aquaculture regime. Our analysis reveals that existing strategic frameworks often fail to capture the agentic actions women take prior to program implementation and do not sufficiently address the influence of social and gender norms. Based on our findings, we recommend integrating gender transformative approaches and agentic strategies into governance frameworks, with the goal of challenging the prevailing regime and fostering greater gender equality in aquaculture. This approach recognizes women's proactive roles and the importance of reshaping governance to support systemic gender equity.
