The past decade has seen renewed, and more concerted and comprehensive interest in gender equality and women’s empowerment in the agricultural development sector. This momentum has created a unique opportunity to advance gender equality, and to institutionalize gender research within agricultural research for development (AR4D) organizations. A new book “Advancing Gender Equality through Agricultural and Environmental Research: Past, Present, and Future” is a part of this overall momentum and the growing body of evidence and ideas it is generating.

The book marks a shift away from a typical, instrumentalist outlook focused on how gender analysis can contribute to research objectives, such as improved productivity. Over 55 gender researchers who contributed to this book intentionally flip the question to ask: How does agricultural and environmental research and development contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment?

The book highlights the history and wealth of gender knowledge that has been generated to date by researchers from CGIAR — an international partnership of agricultural and environmental research institutes — and beyond. For CGIAR, this is an opportune moment to take stock of progress and articulate a forward-looking agenda for future gender research with gender equality and women’s empowerment at the center.

Book overview

• Rhiannon Pyburn, NL-CGIAR senior expert and senior advisor, KIT Royal Tropical Institute; leader of Collaborative Gender Research cluster in the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) (Presentation)
• Anouka van Eerdewijk, Senior Associate, KIT Royal Tropical Institute (Presentation)

Rapid-fire presentations

• Vivian Polar, Gender, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist; Gender research coordinator, CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB), International Potato Center (CIP) (Presentation)
• Iliana Monterroso Ibarra, Scientist, Co-Coordinator of Gender and Social Inclusion Research, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) (Presentation)
• Cynthia McDougall, Senior Research Fellow – Gender, Environment and Development, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) (Presentation)

Discussants

• Susan Kaaria, Senior Gender Officer, Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Jemimah Njuki, Director for Africa, IFPRI

Moderator

• Frank Place, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets, IFPRI