Rural women play a censorious role in the rural economies of both developed and developing countries. They work as farmers, wage earners, and entrepreneurs. Indigenous women have an important role as custodians of traditional knowledge which is key for their communities’ livelihoods, resilience, and culture. In addition, Indigenous women can make a unique contribution to natural resource management. According to UN Systems (United Nations System), rural women are delineated as “active agents of economic and social change and environmental protection who are, in many ways and to various degrees, constrained in their roles as farmers, producers, investors, caregivers, and consumers”.

Rural women play a catalytic role towards the achievement of transformational economic, environmental, and social changes required for sustainable development. Economically empowered rural women are key to the success of families, communities, and national economies. Through their labour, they are maintaining and improving their children’s education, household health, food security, and nutrition, and are thus essential in the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to UN Chronicles, “deliberate efforts to improve their economic empowerment for sustainable livelihoods are also critical to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” Despite the observable economic restraints,  women continue to be instrumental in adapting to and mitigating the negative impacts of economic and climate change. There is a growing recognition of the potential for gender equality and women’s empowerment to produce social, economic, and climate-resilience benefits. Indeed, women in agrestic settings have unique knowledge, skills, and experiences that are critical to promoting sustainable practices and combating the ill effects of climate change and the economy.

Throughout the world, gender is a fundamental factor in the organization of societies, in particular regarding the division of labor and access to commercial activity for men and women. Striving for gender equality is, therefore, an important prerequisite for viable and sustainable development – especially in rural areas and agriculture. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), “Rural women comprise a quarter of the world’s population. Women also make up 41 percent of the world’s agricultural labor force, a ratio which rises to 49 percent for low-income countries. Empowering women of a pastoral setting can have a significant impact on productivity and agriculture-led growth.” Nonetheless women in rural areas face a common “gender gap” that hinders their productivity, thus constraining them engaging in economic activities. Rural women are less likely to be wage earners, and when they are, they earn less than men. They are often concentrated in low-skilled, low-productivity, and low or unpaid jobs with long working hours, poor working conditions, and limited social protection. Furthermore, they shoulder a disproportionate burden of unpaid care and household work, including food provision, caring for children, the sick, and the elderly. Because of gender-based discrimination and social norms, most of their work remains unseen, unrecognized, and undervalued. Women’s presence in rural workers’ and employers’ organizations remains low, leading to a lack of voice and representation. Promoting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment go hand in hand. Both are important in ensuring that women enjoy their human rights and can contribute to inclusive and sustainable development. Therefore, creating decent jobs, entrepreneurship training, and access to education, infrastructure and finance are key. Protecting rural women from unacceptable forms of work, enhancing social protection, ensuring their voices are heard, and closing the representation gap are key elements needed for transformative action.

 Ultimately, the role of rural women in driving change in their communities is to combat norms that define them primarily as wives and mothers, but also to promote them as working-class citizens who are striving to empower other rural women to claim their rights to land, leadership, opportunities, choices, to participate in shaping laws, policies and programs. Empowering them is key not only to the well-being of individuals, families, and rural communities but also to overall economic productivity.