1. Building Resilience Women make crucial contributions in agriculture and rural enterprises in drylands
as farmers, animal husbandry workers and entrepreneurs. Their roles vary across
Connecting Gender and Drylands reduce their productivity and limit their contributions to agricultural production,
economic growth and the well-being of their families, communities and countries.

2. Strengthening Governance and short-term technical interventions that fail to challenge inequitable
power structures and therefore also fail to ensure optimal implementation.
Connecting Gender and Drylands Gender disparities remain among the deepest and most pervasive of all
inequalities and hinder the best of development efforts profoundly.

3. Empowering Communities Gender equality and gender equity are matters of fundamental human
rights and social justice and a pre-condition for sustainable development,
enhancing considerably the effectiveness of programs, projects and
Connecting Gender and Drylands initiatives during implementation.

4. Improving Livelihoods Gender mainstreaming recognizes the diverse roles and needs of women and men
within the sustainable development agenda. Rather than merely adding on women’s
participation to existing strategies and programs, mainstreaming gender aims to
Connecting Gender and Drylands transform unequal social and institutional structures by recognizing the promotion
of gender equality as a central driving principle for development and prosperity.

5. Securing Futures Women not only manage biodiversity for greater availability of food on a regular basis,
Connecting Gender and Drylands dietary diversity is available that healthy development of children require.