Pathways to power in fragile settings: Rethinking women’s roles in agriculture and food systems

Quisumbing, Agnes; Kyle, Jordan; Kosec, Katrina; and Ragasa, Catherine. 2025. Pathways to power in fragile settings: Rethinking women’s roles in agriculture and food systems. IFPRI Blog. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://www.ifpri.org/blog/pathways-to-power-in-fragile-settings-rethinking-womens-roles-in-agriculture-and-food-systems/

Research shows that women play pivotal roles in farming—across value chains, and in food systems as a whole. With harmful effects of climate change, conflict, forced migration, and other problems on the rise, many women around the world find themselves in increasingly fragile settings—creating new challenges in efforts to achieve gender equity and empowerment in food systems.

An IFPRI-organized March 13 session at the NGO Forum on the 69th Commission on the Status of Women at United Nations Headquarters in New York highlighted recent research on different aspects of how women in fragile food systems can become empowered. Evidence shows that when equipped with tools, voice, and recognition, women act—not only to improve their own well-being but to strengthen resilience across households and communities.