How do we achieve gender equity in value chains?

This episode is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Amazon Music.

The importance of why gender equity is crucial throughout value chains is well on its way to being common knowledge. This is major progress indeed, but it also means that attention is now demanded for the next matter at hand: how it can be achieved.

For the numerous projects and initiatives seeking to make the world’s favorite commodities more sustainable, nuanced thinking on gender is required for all the steps between, say, a coffee plant being raised in Ethiopia to a cappuccino being served in New York. Are women not only being asked to participate in making decisions but also supported in actively doing so? Are proper trainings in place where needed and genuinely accessible to everyone? Are earnings and benefits shared equally across genders?

These are a few of the topics and questions addressed in this GLF Live with Patti Kristjanson, a scientific expert on gender and agriculture, and Constance Okollet, a Ugandan farmer who’s led numerous women’s empowerment initiatives, together pairing science and stories to elucidate tactical pathways for change.

Listen back to the conversation:

Patti Kristjanson is a senior gender, agricultural and forest landscapes specialist working with the agriculture and environment groups at the World Bank. She leads gender initiatives for the Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR) Impact Program and The Global Partnership for Sustainable and Resilient Landscapes (PROGREEN), two ambitious partnership programs contributing to sustainable and transformational change in global food systems. Based in Africa for over 20 years, she designed, led and managed diverse agricultural and food systems research in development partnerships with the CGIAR, where she is recognized for her passion for pursuing innovative approaches aimed at linking knowledge with action.

Constance Okollet is the Chairperson for the Osukuru United Women’s Network (OWN) in the Tororo district of Eastern Uganda, and is a self-described peasant farmer and mother of seven. As the chairperson for OWN, she leads a consortium of approximately 1,200 small women’s groups working on education, community health and nutrition.