New publication on women's food security issued by Dutch Ministry of Foreign

The new booklet, Women’s economic empowerment to foster food security, explains the bottlenecks women face in the production, preparation, processing and trading of food. FWF provided input for the document, which was created by the Ministry’s Sustainable Economic Development Department.

The new booklet, Women’s economic empowerment to foster food security, explains the bottlenecks women face in the production, preparation, processing and trading of food. FWF provided input for the document, which was created by the Ministry’s Sustainable Economic Development Department.

Among the many issues affecting women’s food security are the working conditions of women in factories, particuarly in garment indusry, where up 90% of workers are women. These workers can face unequal pay, sexual violence on the workfloor, the lack of maternity leave and female participation in decision-making processes in companies and trade unions. All of these issues can affect access to work and income and therefore to food for workers and their families. The booklet highlights the importance of Corporate Social Reponsibility policies which address these problems in supply chains.

The booklet is written as an inspiration for policymakers in government, business and civil society who are working to foster sustainable food security. It contains several case studies of women’s economic empowerment in developing countries.

The booklet (in English) can be downloaded from the Ministry’s website.