24.04.2017

The European Parliament has proposed a series of measures and recommendations covering various actions and involving both European governments and the European Commission, with the aim of ending the inequality between men and women in rural areas and giving greater visibility to the work carried out by many women in the countryside.

The European Parliament has called for the inclusion of a gender perspective in the distribution of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) aid and for the thematic subprograms on women in rural areas to be maintained and improved in future reforms.

As effective tools for detecting and narrowing the existing gender gap, the EU Parliament proposes regular monitoring of the situation of women in rural areas, data collection , and the evaluation of indicators to identify women's roles in agriculture. This information would also be used to develop a European Statute for Women Farmers in the near future.

Regarding the rural development policies of member countries, it calls for promoting rural women's access to the labor market to be prioritized. It also calls for female employment to be included as a specific measure of the EAFRD ; and for Member States to promote shared ownership of family farms and implement mechanisms that guarantee equal working conditions as well as women's participation in decision-making at all levels and in all areas.

The more active dissemination by Member States of theEuropean microfinance instrument Progress is proposed as a solution to the financing problem faced by many women. The EU Parliament urges Member States to offer various types of incentives to support the sustainability and development of start-ups and SMEs.