Breaking Barriers: The Rise of Gender Equality in Modern Farming
In this fast-paced era, gender inclusion in the business sector is a critical need of the time. However, females all over the world are facing significant challenges in striving in the work environments like pay gaps and attribution of their success to their gender. Such challenges limit them from exhibiting their entire potential and skills in competitive sectors which in turn affects the economic growth and development of the societies.
This blog outlines the vital aspects of gender equality in the agriculture sector including what it brings and what are limiting the opportunities for inclusion of females in farming businesses.
Understanding Gender Equality in the Agriculture Sector
We all might have heard about Stefan Soloviev who established a billion-dollar agribusiness from scratch. How come there are only a few women who have made it to the acknowledged personalities in the agricultural sector? Here, initiates the concept of bringing gender inclusion in this sector which defines the economic condition of various countries across the globe.
In this context, gender equality means to ensure that women compete for resources and opportunities at an equal level to that of males. It is important to empower women and streamline their access to financial and educational reservoirs that are inevitable for business establishment and growth. Moreover, it also includes giving a fair opportunity to females for leadership roles and engaging them in the decision-making processes.
What is Limiting Gender Equality in Agribusinesses?
There is a whole list of systematic barriers that are limiting the access of females to opportunities in agriculture businesses. Let’s break it down and have a look at the most important ones.
1. Cultural and Social Norms
In a major portion of the world, especially Asia, women are confined within an invisible barrier of domestic responsibilities. So, they lack enough time to access educational resources and develop skills and are forced to stay content with economic dependency.
2. Restricted Access to Technology
In this era, digital tools have become inevitable for businesses as they enhance productivity and help to maintain a smooth workflow at the workplace. However, women in many regions, mainly rural areas, suffer from the technology gap that further impacts the establishment of agriculture businesses there that are led by females.
3. Hindered Access to Financial Resources
Economic dependency restricts females from accessing financial services like lending opportunities. Even in this high-tech era, more than 50% of females in developing countries do not have access to banking services or struggle to provide enough collateral to secure funding to start a business.
4. Gender-Based Violence
Apart from domestic violence, harassment in the workplace has now reached an alarming level deterring females from pursuing their careers. Women, nowadays, are reluctant to engage freely in activities at the workplace due to the threat posed by unsafe work cultures which ultimately affect their freedom of economic participation.
Exploring the Long-Lasting Impacts of Gender Inclusion
Women make up a significant proportion of society, so it does not sound fair to exclude them from a major sector that drives the success of a community. The following point depicts the crucial impact of promoting gender inclusion in agribusinesses.
1. Building Resilient Communities
The concept of males being the sole breadwinners of families is long gone. Now, females are stepping into the working class and building stronger communities than ever. Women empowerment works well to bring financial stability to households that were previously struggling to make ends meet. However, it is only possible by understanding this crucial need of time and giving them fair access to learning and working opportunities.
2. Fostering Sustainable Business Growth
Nowadays, technological advancements are becoming unpredictable. Each day, new software and trends make it to the global business market and transform its landscape. So, companies are focusing on employing diverse talents to cope with these uncertainties. If women are given equal opportunities to contribute to the businesses, they can bring the required diversification and productivity by working alongside the male workers.
3. Improving the Quality of Life
Women empowerment is not about empowering a single entity. It impacts a whole household and even a community. In the under-developed regions, the lack of work opportunities for the young generation and females has rippled the society resulting in a relatively high poverty index. The inclusive participation in the economies regardless of gender mitigates the rising concerns of food security across the globe and improves the overall quality of life.
The Verdict
Modern businesses are bringing flexibility to the workplace to accommodate female workers and provide them with a healthy and safe work environment. As the trend of gender inclusion is rising, a community must alleviate the burden of domestic responsibilities from the shoulders of women and welcome their meaningful economic participation for building strong communities.
