Women Help Feed the World. Why Can't They Own Land?

Oct 15, 2019 | Karol Boudreaux
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In rural areas around the world, the face of a farmer is increasingly a woman’s. 

From the paddy terraces of Asia to the maize fields of sub-Saharan Africa, she will till, plant, water, and harvest crops that feed her household and whole communities.

According to the International Labour Organization’s 2017 World Employment Social Outlook, 30 percent of working women worldwide are employed in agriculture. The share of women working in agriculture rises to 57 percent in sub Saharan Africa and 60 percent in South Asia — in both instances exceeding the share of men working in farming. 

And yet, less than 15 percent of landholders worldwide are women — a disparity that prevents millions of rural women from realizing their full potential.