UN Women Calls for Increased Investment and Rights for Rural Women

In a statement marking the International Day of Rural Women on October 15, UN Women called on governments, financial institutions, businesses, and development partners to invest directly in rural women and dismantle barriers limiting their economic and environmental leadership.

According to the organization, the rights, access to resources, and decision-making power of rural women continue to fall short of their contributions to food systems, land, water, and biodiversity. UN Women stated that rural women require enforceable rights to natural resources, equal access to markets, finance, agricultural services, and technology, alongside decent work, resilient infrastructure, and social protection. The agency also emphasized the need to recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care work.

UN Women highlighted that current global initiatives, including the International Year of the Woman Farmer and meetings under the three Rio Conventions on climate change, biodiversity, and desertification, provide key opportunities to advance these goals. The agency stressed that rural women must participate in shaping agricultural policies and determining funding allocations for climate action, land restoration, and biodiversity protection, urging that their leadership be integrated into budgets, commitments, and actions worldwide.

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