Introduction
The agricultural sector is stereotypically viewed as a masculine domain with a heavy emphasis on physical labor and mechanized fieldwork, yet women are responsible for a comparable portion of agricultural labor. Depending upon the region and the type of agricultural activity, women can account for as little as 20 % of the labor force, such as in the case of Latin America, or upward of 60 % in areas such as Lesotho, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone. On average in developing nations, women comprise 43 % of the agricultural labor force (FAO 2011). Women’s work is conducted in a multitude of settings including, but not limited to, commercial or industrial farming, subsistence farming, organic farming, and the raising and production of livestock. Accurate output numbers are difficult to calculate as women are frequently underrepresented in the agriculture industry due to perceived gender roles and the belief that women are expected merely to help on family farms and do not...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Dolan, C., Opondo, M., & Smith, S. (2003). Gender, rights and participation in the Kenya cut flower industry. Report No. 2768. Greenwich: Natural Resources Institute.
El-Tobshy, Z. (2005). Gender and agriculture in Egypt. In P. Motzafi-Haller (Ed.), Women in agriculture in the Middle East (pp. 115–139). Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). (1998). Rural women and food security: Current situation and perspectives. Rome: FAO.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). (2011). The state of food and agriculture. Rome: FAO.
Gray, L., & Kevane, M. (1999). Diminished access, diverted exclusion: Women and land tenure in Sub-Saharan Africa. African Studies Review, 42, 15–39. https://doi.org/10.2307/525363.
Hammami, R. (2005). Women in agricultural production in the Palestinian authority. In P. Motzafi-Haller (Ed.), Women in agriculture in the Middle East (pp. 47–92). Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company.
Hoppe, R. A., & Korb, P. (2013). Characteristics of women farm operators and their farms. In J. Wallace & A. Marshall (Eds.), Women-operated and family farms in the United States: Characteristics and trends (pp. 1–56). New York: Nova Science Publishers.
McMahon, M. (2002). Resisting globalization: Women organic farmers and local food systems. Canadian Woman Studies, 21(3), 203–206.
Prügl, E. (2011). Transforming masculine rule. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Spring, A. (2000). Commercialization and women farmers: Old paradigms and new themes. In A. Spring (Ed.), Women farmers and commercial ventures: Increasing food security in developing countries. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Talcott, M. (2003). Gendered webs of development and resistance: Women, children, and flowers in Bogota. Signs, 29(2), 465–489. https://doi.org/10.1086/378107.
Trauger, A. (2004). ‘Because they can do the work’: Women farmers in sustainable agriculture in Pennsylvania, USA. Gender, Place and Culture, 11(2), 289–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369042000218491.
Wallace, J., & Marshall, A. (2013). Preface. In J. Wallace & A. Marshall (Eds.), Women-operated and family farms in the United States: Characteristics and trends (pp. vii–viii). New York: Nova Science Publishers.
Waugh, I. M. (2010). Examining the sexual harassment experiences of Mexican immigrant farm working women. Violence Against Women, 16(3), 237–261. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801209360857.
Wells, B. (2013). Daughters and granddaughters of farm workers; Emerging from the long shadow of farm labor. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
Wright, C., & Madrid, G. (2007). Contesting ethical trade in Colombia’s cut-flower industry: A case of cultural and economic injustice. Culture Sociology, 1(2), 255–275.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature B.V.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Stratton, A., Gallaher, C.M. (2019). Women in Agriculture. In: Kaplan, D.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1179-9_579
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1179-9_579
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1178-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1179-9
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities