What’s New, Webby?
The UN System: Working Together to Empower Rural Women
Rural women, though active agents of economic and social change and environmental protection, are, in many ways, constrained in their roles as farmers, producers, investors, caregivers and consumers. Their role in feeding and looking after their families is crucial but they continue to face serious challenges as a result of gender-based stereotypes and discrimination that deny them equitable access to opportunities, resources, assets and services.
The 10th session of the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) established a one-year task force to provide strategic direction and guidance to relevant UN processes and agencies working on promoting the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), with a particular emphasis on rural women. Co-ordinated by FAO, IFAD and WFP, the task force is contributing to the preparations for the priority theme of the Commission on the Status of Women 2012. Its work will also feed into the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the MDG Summit in 2015, and will help define new post-2015 global targets and goals that take into consideration the situation of rural women.
The website consolidates information related to the task force and its mandate. It includes a fact sheet on rural women and the MDGs. This web package also highlights official UN system observances for International Women’s Day and includes related statements, events and resources.
