European Parliament rallies for women's rights in ag
The report on the women and their role in rural areas adopted by European Parliament's Agriculture Committee and by the Women’s Committee was drawn up by MEP Petir and MEP Maria Senra Rodriguez. It points out that women represent slightly less than 50% of the total working population in rural areas but only about 30% of farm holdings are managed by women. It also warns that women in rural areas suffer from serious gender pay and pensions gaps.
Welcoming the report, Chairwoman of Copas’ Women Committee Willemien Koning-Hoeve said “I wholeheartedly support this report from the European Parliament. Women play a vital multifunctional role in rural areas, often promoting additional on-farm activities like agritourism and also being drivers of innovation. This was demonstrated by our 2016 Copa’s Innovation Award for Women and the Special Achievement Award which demonstrated that women are key players in the future of rural society”.
“To maximise their potential, I agree with MEPs that conditions need to be improved for women in rural areas and that they should have better access to credit and education and that there needs to be more equal treatment between men and women. In particular, they need to be better represented in decision-making bodies. I also agree with MEPs that Member States need to be inspired to ensure women’s joint management of farms and make use of existing measures under the CAP in order to increase the participation of women as beneficiaries. Finally, I urge Member States to facilitate access of land for women”, she insisted.
MEP Petir also presented the report to Copas’ Women Committee today underlining the multifunctional role of women and the need for them to have a decent income, with a minimum pension rate and access to basic infrastructures like kindergartens to ensure a balance between work and family life. “The public don’t realise how difficult it is for farmers to meet the challenges. It is of the interest of every member state to look after their farmers and ensure the production of good quality food for half a billion consumers in the EU”, she said.
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Copa Cogeca
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