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by Blanca Casares Guillén, policy expert and project manager (AEIDL). Coordinator of the European Policy Forum for women-led innovation in agriculture and rural areas 

As the European Union prepares to shape its next Gender Equality Strategy (2026–2030), it is essential that the framework recognises the specific realities of women in rural areas and systematically integrates urban–rural disparities into policy design. Gender equality challenges are not uniformly experienced across Europe; they are shaped by geography, access, and demographic patterns—factors that often disproportionately affect women in rural territories.

Recent data from Eurostat underscores that labour market participation data highlights persistent gaps. In 2023, the EU employment rate for women aged 20–64 years in rural areas stood at 69.7%, slightly below the 70.2% average across all degrees of urbanisation. More striking is the gender disparity in part-time work: 26.5% of rural women were employed part-time compared to only 6.0% of rural men, exposing a 20.5 percentage point gap. This reflects deep-rooted structural inequalities, often tied to the availability of care services and social expectations about women’s roles in the household and community.

Women in rural areas are also more vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion, with 22.5% of rural women at risk in 2023, compared to 20.4% of men.

In terms of education, rural women and men face critical challenges that affect lifelong opportunities. In 2023, 13.4% of young rural women and 16.5% of young rural men had at most lower secondary education. The share of rural women with tertiary education was just 38.4%—10 percentage points below the EU average across all degrees of urbanisation (48.8%). Early school leaving is also more prevalent in rural areas, with 8.3% of young women and 11.2% of young men affected, limiting their access to quality employment.

These figures point to intersecting barriers that rural women face: geographic isolation, fewer educational and professional opportunities, limited service provision (e.g. childcare, transport), and entrenched gender roles. Without a rural-sensitive and intersectional approach, the Gender Equality Strategy risks reinforcing these gaps rather than closing them.

On 10 April 2025, the FEMM Committee considered a draft opinion on the Gender Equality Strategy 2025 presented by rapporteur Marko Vešligaj, where he calls on the Commission to present an ambitious strategy with concrete tangible legislative and non-legislative measures in a number of key areas, such as gender-based violence, women’s empowerment in the world of work, or equal representation and political participation. The draft report also calls for efforts to advance gender equality through the principles of intersectionality and gender mainstreaming, and to ensure that a gender perspective is integrated into all Commission proposals, including budgetary procedures.

Importantly, this draff report on the Gender Equality Strategy post-2025 already affirms the need for gender mainstreaming and intersectionality. However, rural women are not visible within this framework. Recognising their realities would align with broader EU goals, such as the Rural Vision 2040, the European Pillar of Social Rights, and commitments to territorial cohesion.

Based on findings from the GRASS CEILING project (Gender Equality in Rural and Agricultural Innovation Systems), funded under Horizon Europe, it is clear that the post-2026 Gender Equality Strategy must take a comprehensive and rural-sensitive approach to ensure no woman is left behind. For Europe to become truly inclusive and resilient, the Gender Equality Strategy must not only reflect diversity in gender—but also territorial diversity. By explicitly addressing rural realities, the next Gender Equality Strategy can ensure that no woman is left behind, regardless of where she lives.

For that, to build a truly inclusive and resilient Europe, the Strategy should prioritise actions that address the unique challenges faced by rural women, including: combating gender-based violence in isolated areas and promoting rural women’s entrepreneurship. It must also recognise and support informal and agricultural work, which is often unprotected and undervalued, by ensuring access to social security, parental leave, and other benefits. Bridging the digital divide through investments in broadband and digital literacy for rural communities is essential. The European Care Strategy must be adapted to consider rural infrastructure limitations, such as transportation and staffing as well as the development of community-based care models that are affordable and accessible. Moreover, rural women’s active participation in local governance should be fostered, and all EU data collection related to gender equality must include rural–urban disaggregation to properly reflect territorial disparities and inform targeted policy solutions.

Authors: Blanca Casares and Miranda García (AEIDL)

On 24 March 2025, over 110 participants convened online for the new session of the European Policy Forum on Women-led innovation in agriculture and rural areas. The event focused on how public policies can better support rural women and women farmers across Europe, in particular, EU Funds.

Hosted by the European Association for Innovation in Local Development (AEIDL) as part of the GRASS CEILING project, the session showcased national good practices and encouraged open discussions about how to build stronger and more inclusive public support mechanisms for the post-2027 programming period.

Sally Shortall, GRASS CEILING coordinator, and Charlene Lambert from the Women Entrepreneurship Platform, presented recent findings from the project.

Blanca Casares Guillén, policy expert at AEIDL and coordinator of the Forum, introduced the Forum’s objectives and activities, further illuminating the EU’s political landscape and its ongoing commitment to gender equality and women’s rights.

One key part of the session focused on national practices using EU funds to advance gender equality in rural development. Isabel Aguilar Pastor from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food shared insights on Spain’s CAP Strategic Plan, highlighting opportunities for rural women through EARDF programming and their participation in rural communities and the agricultural sector; Ana Lite Mateo from the Institute of Women (Spanish Ministry of Equality) spoke about the Rural Women’s Challenge programme to promote female entrepreneurship in rural areas,  financed by the European Social Fund; James Claffey from the Irish CAP Network provided an in-depth explanation of Ireland’s mentorship programmes and the Women’s Farmer Capital Investment Scheme, highlighting key initiatives such as ACORNS (Accelerating the Creation of Rural Nascent Start-Ups) and TAMS3 (Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme) and Fiona Leslie (Scottish Government) described the policy journey that led in 2019 to the creation of Scotland’s Women in Agriculture (WiA) Taskforce and presented its current development programme.

A high-level round-table discussion, moderated by Blanca Casares, brought together high-level speakers to look at how public support can be systematised to support women in farming and rural areas.

Elena Schubert (European Commission – DG AGRI) highlighted the European Commission’s efforts to enhance women’s participation in agriculture through initiatives like the Vision and the Roadmap, the forthcoming Women in Farming Platfom, and the Generational Renewal Strategy, emphasising that greater gender inclusion can boost competitiveness and GDP while underscoring the need for improved gender tracking in the EU budget. Sally Shortall (GRASS CEILING coordinator) emphasised the importance of tracking funding for women, increasing female representation in STEM and corporate boards, challenging persistent stereotypes, and leveraging regulations like parental leave. Maria Nikolopoulou (European Economic and Social Committee) highlighted that regulatory measures like work-life balance and paid parental leave are crucial for supporting women and she highlighted initiatives like the EU Organic Awards that “promote women’s success stories.”

Maura Farrell (FLIARA project) called for gender equality to be “a permanent and structured part of public policy,” with dedicated funding, monitoring, independent audit and visibility for women’s contributions. Sari Rautio (European Committee of the Regions) underlined that “women are underrepresented in rural decision-making, and that must change,” and advocated for mentoring, better data, networking, local-level policies and positive discrimination measures, childcare support and other community-based care programmes. “The CoR Opinion on post-2027 LEADER also calls for greater involvement of women in decision-making public. Women are less involved in LAGs decision making for instance”.

Louise Méhauden (EU4Advice project) noted that “advisory services appear as a solution for many women,” but emphasised the need for “gender disaggregated data and accurate indicators.”. She remarked that the particularities of women in value supply chains should be taken into consideration. Mar Delgado (University of Córdoba) shared insights from the MOVING and DESIRA projects, revealing that women’s needs in farming and rural areas are still poorly understood. She reflected on the usefulness of certain online platforms because some major challenges for women farmers are the lack of time, digital skills, and financing, sometimes having to return the funding. Laura Kaun (European Women’s Lobby) concluded by stressing the importance of the equality framework including gender representation, care policies, and gender budgeting.

Cristina Guarda (Member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development) also contributed to this roundtable via video message, echoing the shared view across the panel. Guarda called for gender equality to be set as a specific objective in the next CAP reform, with measurable targets, mandatory tasks to report about it, stronger coordination across EU funds, and gender-disaggregated data.

Presentations from all speakers are now available here, and the session recordings can be found on the project’s YouTube channel.

Read the Highlight Report

AEIDL and Copa-Cogeca are coordinating the European Policy Forum for women-led innovation to drive progress in women-led socio-ecological innovations within farming, rural economies, and communities. By mobilising a diverse range of stakeholders, the Forum fosters impactful dialogue and collaborative efforts toward sustainable change.

Do you want to be part? Sign up here!: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/GRASSCEILING_Forum

Author: Blanca Casares (AEIDL)

Over the past month, the European Commission has presented two important instruments, the Vision for Agriculture and Food and the Roadmap for Women’s Rights. AEIDL (European Association for Innovation in Local Development), in its role of developing policy recommendations and tools within the GRASS CEILING Project, has examined these instruments to assess the opportunities they provide for advancing gender equality and supporting agricultural and rural transitions for women.

The Vision for Agriculture and Food was announced by Ursula von der Leyen in the political guidelines for her new Commission and adopted on 19 February 2025. 

Building on the report of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture, and in consultation with the European Board for Agriculture and Food (EBAF), the Vision presents an ambitious roadmap for 2040 on the future of farming and food in Europe aiming to secure the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of the EU’s farming and food sector for current and future generations.

The members of the Strategic Dialogue considered the necessity of achieving full gender equality for the future success of food systems, particularly through equal representation in leadership roles. Despite progress, gender inequalities persist, including unequal access to land, financing, services, and technology. Key recommendations includes integrating gender mainstreaming into agricultural and rural policies, ensuring legal protections and social support for women, and creating an observatory to monitor social conditions. Member States should promote women’s access to financial resources, strengthen land tenure rights, and enhance leadership opportunities in agricultural governance. The European Commission was urged to adopt gender-responsive budgeting, improve data collection on women in agriculture, and conduct a study by 2026 to explore legal status improvements and best practices across Member States.

The recently published Vision is structured around four main objectives, the Vision emphasises:

• The need to build an attractive agricultural sector that ensures a fair standard of living while unlocking new income opportunities.
• The importance of fostering a competitive and resilient agricultural sector capable of addressing global challenges.
• The future-proofing the agri-food sector by fostering a harmonious relationship with nature.
• The relevance of valuing food and fostering fair living and working conditions in vibrant rural areas.

It is worth noting from the Vision that to attract more women to farming and to allow for exchange of experience, the Commission will establish a Women in Farming platform that will strengthen women’s engagement and equal opportunities in the farming sector thanks to the actions brought about by the Platform members. It will also serve as a forum to discuss and exchange good practices.

The Commission will work towards establishing an ‘EU Observatory for Agricultural Land’, starting with a pilot project this year. It will enhance transparency and cooperation in land transactions and transfers of land use rights, price trends and market behaviour, changes in land use, and loss of agricultural and natural land. The Observatory will also help Member States take informed decisions on the regulation of their farmland markets.

The Commission is analysing further proposals at EU and at Member States level to facilitate access to land, credit and knowledge for young farmers. The Generational Renewal strategy, announced in the Vision for Agriculture and Food, will propose concrete and innovative measures in this regard.

Another key policy initiative was presented last month with the European Commission unveiling its Roadmap for Women’s Rights on March 7, just ahead of International Women’s Day.

Building on the progress achieved under the Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, the Roadmap sets out a long-term vision to address gender-based violence, ensure equal pay, promote work-life balance, and advance women’s political and economic participation. 

The Roadmap sets out long-term policy objectives for upholding and advancing the following key principles of women’s rights and gender equality: (1) freedom from gender-based violence; (2) the highest standards of health; (3) equal pay and economic empowerment; (4) work-life balance and care; (5) equal employment opportunities and adequate working conditions; (6) quality and inclusive education; (7) political participation and equal representation; (8) institutional mechanisms that deliver on women’s rights.

However, GRASS CEILING notes that this roadmap lacks more development and mention of the gender gap in certain sectors, as well as of the specific needs of women in rural areas.

Alongside the Roadmap, it was presented the 2025 Report on Gender Equality. It highlights that sectoral segregation is a major factor contributing to the gender pay gap. Women tend to be over represented in sectors with average lower pay, often because the jobs in these sectors are undervalued and considered ‘women’s job’, such as care and education. As highlighted also in the European care strategy, these are also sectors in which labour shortages are increasingly prominent and likely to increase with population ageing, especially in rural areas.

In the area of agriculture and rural policy, in line with growing concerns around mental health challenges in rural regions, the Commission is paying more attention to the specific factors affecting mental health within the farming community. In 2024, the Commission, in cooperation with the CAP Network, organised an event supporting the mental health of farmers. The gender dimension was very important at this workshop, as women farmers and men farmers tend to cope with mental health issues in a different way.

Read here the Factsheet: Vision for Agriculture and Food

Read here the COM(2025) 75 final A Vision for Agriculture and Food Shaping together an attractive farming and agri-food sector for future generations

Read here the COM(2025) 97 final A Roadmap for Women’s Rights

International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the power and potential of women everywhere. It’s also a time to recognise the incredible contributions women are making to our world.

From grassroots activists to world leaders, women are at the forefront of the fight for equality and are creating socially and ecologically sustainable communities for all. The European Commission’s roadmap on women’s rights is a testament to the growing recognition of women’s leadership.

At GRASS CEILING, we believe that empowering women is essential to building a just and sustainable future. We are committed to supporting women in rural areas who are leading innovation in their communities.

GRASS CEILING key findings:

• The gender gap persists in land ownership
• Women are establishing sustainable businesses with short supply chains
• Women need more access to micro-finance, training and mentoring
• Rural depopulation impacts on women as well as men
• The resources and support networks for women are inadequate
• More gender data is essential
• Social and cultural norms are more influential than legal framework

Let’s celebrate women’s leadership and continue the fight for equality, together.

For this year´s International Women’s Day 2025, in line with the aims and objectives of the day outlined by UN Women, we will celebrate the strength and resilience of women (and girls)[1] around the globe. But we also recognise that true equality remains elusive.

For this Day, we aim to take concrete action through our messaging ensuring that every woman, regardless of circumstances, enjoys the same rights and opportunities.

The European Commission’s roadmap on women’s rights is a welcome step, but words must be followed by meaningful change. We need policies that address the specific challenges faced by women, particularly in rural areas.

GRASS CEILING key findings:

• The gender gap persists in land ownership
• Women are establishing sustainable businesses with short supply chains
• Women need more access to micro-finance, training and mentoring
• Rural depopulation impacts on women as well as men
• The resources and support networks for women are inadequate
• More gender data is essential
• Social and cultural norms are more influential than legal frameworks

Now, more than ever, with social rights under threat in a volatile international climate, we must protect and strengthen equality policies, and commit to driving their progress.

Join us in demanding a world where equality is not just a dream, but a reality for all women.

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[1] Official UN campaign refers to women and girls. For GRASS CEILING, we will focus on “women” in order to ensure consistency with the branding and messaging of our project.

GRASS CEILING partner Blanca Casares, Policy Expert at AEIDL (European Association for Innovation in Local Development), was interviewed by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) for a series of videos on women in politics, together with Ellen Nauta Van-Moorsel, member of the EU CoR and mayor of the municipality of Hof van Twente, in which they discussed the role of women in rural areas.

Women play a crucial role in sustaining, conserving, and developing rural areas, both culturally and economically. They are key to preserving and transmitting traditions and form a significant part of the agricultural workforce, supporting rural development amidst ongoing depopulation. However, they face substantial challenges due to prevalent issues in rural areas such as unemployment, poverty, inadequate transport, and the lack of essential, healthcare, and educational and social services. These difficulties are compounded by traditional mindsets that impose stereotypical roles, relegating women to subordinate positions in both private and public spheres.

Blanca Casares emphasized that women understanding of local needs positions them to create and drive initiatives that boost the local economy and enhance quality of life. Blanca noted the growing adoption of community involvement approaches in areas such as social innovation, new governance structures, and grassroots innovation. However, she highlighted a significant data gap, with few gender-differentiated statistics and no comparative studies on rural women across Europe. This lack of data hampers effective gender mainstreaming, obscuring the baseline needed to establish policy goals for supporting rural women. She stressed the importance of reviewing EU policies through a rural lens, incorporating rural and gender proofing to ensure these policies effectively address the unique challenges faced by rural women. Integrating a gender perspective into EU policies is essential for promoting gender equality and empowerment, particularly in regions grappling with depopulation. Strengthening women’s roles in public life should be prioritized, including the formulation of a new EU Gender Equality Strategy post-2025.

Have a look at the video.