Fairtrade addresses gender equality

Striving for gender equality is integrated in all facets of our work—from standards to programs and research. Trade cannot be fair unless it includes people of all genders.

In spite of generations fighting against it, gender inequality remains a massive obstacle and is still very much engrained in society today.

For example, though women make up the majority of people producing food, they rarely receive their share of the benefits of their hard labour.

Women in agricultural communities often:

Don’t have control of the money they earn
Don’t own land or crops
Have less access to education, training or supplies
Are discriminated against when applying for credit

Our gender approach supports farming organisations in tackling the unequal power relationships that hold women back in the workplace and in society.

70 %

of people who live in extreme poverty (living on less than $2.15 a day) are women.
~1/4

of Fairtrade producers are women

Gender Equality

Fast Facts

Here are some fast facts about gender equality across the world

How Fairtrade addresses gender inequality

Strong standards
Producer support programmes

We have programmes specifically designed to train women and support them in taking leadership roles within their community. For example, producer networks are rolling out women’s schools of leadership, enabling women to learn business, negotiation and finance skills. Many of these women go on to take on leadership and committee positions within their cooperatives and communities.
Premium use

Many Fairtrade Premium projects directly benefit women, enabling changes to decision-making structures in certified producer organisations, and improving economic opportunities. For example, at Banaexport, a banana company in Colombia, the Premium has been used to set up the Bellas project, to promote gender equality in the workplace. Since its introduction the number of women workers has increased, and they are taking on previously male dominated roles.
Market access
Research and data

"Now I say to myself I can do anything I want. I've learned to believe in myself and believe that I will be able to make it”. Zoila Coto (second from left), member of El Sunza Cooperative. She has been part of CLAC's women's school of leadership.

Women in Coffee Project

Fairtrade’s Growing Women in Coffee project encouraged the transfer of coffee bushes to women coffee farmers in Kenya, enabling them to earn an independent income for the first time. 300 women from Kabngetuny Cooperative received training on good agricultural practices, and have increased the yield and quality of their coffee as a result. They also have benefitted from the construction of ‘green energy’ biogas cook stoves for their homes, reducing exposure to smoke and the time they spend collecting firewood. Now they have launched their own women’s label coffee: Zawadi coffee, which is Swahili for “gift”. “If a woman is empowered, then the house will also be empowered, economically and socially” says Elizabeth, member of Kabngetuny coffee cooperative.

Women’s School of Leadership

The Women’s School of Leadership was initially launched in Côte d’Ivoire by the producer network Fairtrade Africa in response to inequalities within cocoa farming. It is an innovative program with the goal of improving opportunities for women in agriculture. The courses provide skills and tools for women to become financially independent, take on leadership roles, and participate in decision-making. The program has now expanded to recent cohorts of women flower workers in Ethiopia, coffee farmers in Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea, and a similar program, the Gender Leadership School, has launched in Central and Southeast Asia.

Fairtrade addresses gender equality

Fast Facts

How Fairtrade addresses gender inequality

Strong standards

Producer support programmes

Premium use

Market access

Research and data

Women in Coffee Project

Women’s School of Leadership

About Fairtrade Canada

Other information & key policies

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