The 13th OECD Rural Development Conference was held in Cavan, Ireland on 28-30 September 2022 under the theme "Building Sustainable, Resilient and Thriving Rural Places". These are the presentations from the Conference parallel session "Reducing Gender Gaps: Improving opportunities for Women in the Rural Economy". For more information visit https://www.oecd.org/rural/rural-development-conference/.

1. Reducing gender gaps
CREATING
OPPORTUNITIES AND
REMOVING CONSTRAINTS
FOR WOMEN IN
RURAL ECONOMIES
MARÍA EMILIA UNDURRAGA
Research Professor
San Sebastián University, Chile
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
CONFERENCE 2022

2. FOOD SAFETY
Globally, the demand for
food and forest products
will increase more than
50% by 2050.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Forestry and agricultural
sector needs to adapt and
plays a key role in carbon
neutrality (sequestration).
RURAL
QUALITY OF LIFE
Large gaps with the urban
world.
2
CONTEXT

3. CONTEXT
WOMEN IN RURAL
LATINAMERICA
- 58 million rural women in
Latin America, 20%
indigenous.
- 6 million in extreme
poverty
- Only 30% of women have
access to land, but still,
they produce 50% of the
food.

4. CONTEXT
WOMEN IN
RURAL CHILE
55%
of women that
run rural
households
have not
completed
school.
37%
of rural women
live in
multidimensional
poverty.
23%
of those
employed in
agriculture
and fishing
are women.
15%
of mayors
of rural local
government
are women.
77%
of women believe that
their contribution to
agriculture is not
valued.
Priorities
• Environment
• Health
• Employment
• Connectivity and
digitization
Fuente: CASEN
Fuente: SERVEL
Fuente: CASEN
Fuente: INE
Fuente: PRODEMU

5. 5
CONTEXT
WOMEN IN RURAL CHILE
CULTURAL PATTERNS,
GENDER STEREOTYPES
How much do
you agree with
the following
statements?
39%
28% 25%
21%
47%
35% 34%
30%
Men must be responsible
for family and home
expenses
It is more appropriate for
men to be recognized as
head of household
Women rather than men,
should take care of the
children
Doing housework is more
suitable for women than
for men
Urban Rural
Fuente: ODEPA, 2022.
Región de Los Ríos
Women

6. CONTEXT
CHILEAN NATIONAL
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
POLICY 2020 (PNDR)
General Objective: improve the
quality of life and increase the
opportunities of the population
that lives in rural areas.

7. CREATING
OPPORTUNITIES
BUILDING BRIDGES
Public
sector
Private
sector
Civil society
Economic
Social
Environmental

8. CREATING
OPPORTUNITIES
LOCAL
DEVELOPMENT

9. 9
CREATING
OPPORTUNITIES
PRODEMU
This foundation accompanies more than 60,000
women each year in their empowerment
processes, with the purpose of achieving
autonomy that allows them to improve their
quality of life through the recognition and
exercise of their rights.
How it works?
TRAINING INFORMATION ASSOCIATION PARTICIPATION

10. CREATING
OPPORTUNITIES
AGRICULTURAL
TECHNICAL TRANSFER
GROUPS (GTT)
As part of the strategy of the Agricultural
Union and through a Foundation, sectoral
technology transfer has been extended to
collaboration between sectors and a special
link with rural education with a focus on
women, including youth groups. GTT offers:
• Business training
• Specialized technical assistance
• Identification of technological gaps
• Adaptation and change management
• Relationship with the environment
1st agricultural technical transfer
groups for women
Los Lagos- Chile 2022

11. 1. Women are crucial for the big
challenges of the rural areas: ensure
food security, increase the quality of life
and face Climate Change
2. Building bridges between the public,
private and civil society is a key strategy
3. Vulnerable women need the support of
integral tools starting with the
empowerment of their own contribution
4. Collaboration inside the agricultural
sector and the relation with technical
education fosters stronger communities
CONCLUSIONS

12. THANKS
MARÍA EMILIA UNDURRAGA
Research Professor
San Sebastián University, Chile
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
CONFERENCE 2022