07.03.2018

On International Women's Day, the magazine Desarrollo Rural y Sostenible, produced by the National Rural Network , has focused on the role of women in rural areas .

One of the processes that has marked the country's territorial evolution is the masculinization of rural areas. Rural women were the first to migrate to cities during the rural exodus , and they continue to be so. The sexist assignment of roles , the invisibility of their work, both at home and in the workplace, and the lack of economic, professional, and social recognition for women have been cited on numerous occasions as reasons behind women's flight from rural areas. This has very negative consequences for both family farming and rural settlements , as the rest of the family follows behind the women.

But this isn't the only reality. Rural women are increasingly gaining prominence in traditionally male-dominated tasks. Not without added difficulty due to gender inequalities , women also hold positions of responsibility in agricultural cooperatives, own their own farms or share them with their partners under a joint ownership arrangement, and develop innovative rural business ideas.

This issue of the magazine highlights the indispensable role of women in the past, present, and future of rural areas. We feature the testimony of relevant women such as Lourdes Zuriaga , president of the Association of Agri-Food Journalists of Spain, and Jerónima Bonafé , president of the Association of Women of Agri-Food Cooperatives of Spain, as well as the experiences of those who have received the Excellence Award for Innovation for Rural Women, the exhibition " Women's Work in the Shadows ," and the report " Rowing Against the Wind of Inequality," which takes an in-depth look at the situation of women in rural areas and reviews various measures, plans, and initiatives that have been implemented by institutions in this regard.