The GRASS CEILING project joins in commemorating and critically analysing the International Day of Rural Women on October 15. We strongly support this day to emphasise the need for reflection on how to improve the conditions of rural women.
As our project coordinator, Professor Sally Shortall, recently stated at the opening session of our first European Policy Forum on October 7,” We are working to develop policy recommendations and observations that can inform and guide future policies aimed at improving the conditions of rural women”.
GRASS CEILING is a project dedicated to better understanding, raising awareness of, and recognising the role of rural women. One of our key objectives is to contribute to transforming gender norms and stereotypes and enhancing the innovative capacity of rural women.
To achieve these goals, we are committed to political advocacy through dialogue with entities such as the EU’s Strategic Directorate for Agriculture. We aim to develop policy recommendations and observations that can inform future political decision-making and contribute to multidisciplinary dialogue promoting legal, social, political, and economic changes grounded in gender-responsive budgeting.
In alignment with the UN theme for this year’s celebration, GRASS CEILING is working to build resilience to climate change by supporting women who seek to conserve the rural environment through the application of conservation policies, sustainable resource management, circular economy principles, and natural space restoration. These efforts prioritise biodiversity conservation.
Throughout our work, we maintain a commitment to land stewardship, respect for women and girls, and, above all, the promotion of gender equality.
We recognise that the United Nations identifies the following key factors as essential for empowering rural women and girls:
- Decent work and social protection
- Education and training
- Sustainable energy and technology
- Clean water and sanitation
- Elimination of violence and harmful practices
- Women’s inclusion in decision-making and leadership
- Increased resilience to climate change
Therefore, on October 15, 2024, GRASS CEILING joins in celebrating the International Day of Rural Women and wholeheartedly supports the UN theme: “Rural Women Sustaining Nature for Our Collective Future: Building climate resilience, conserving biodiversity, and caring for land towards gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.”
