Women remain under-represented in EU agriculture, particularly as farm managers, while much of their contribution as spouses and unpaid family workers remains invisible and unrecognised. Around one third of EU farms are managed by women, but structural barriers persist in land ownership, inheritance, access to resources, and policymaking. Patrilineal land transfer patterns continue to limit women’s access to farmland, EU common agricultural policy (CAP) subsidies, and decision-making roles. Existing data, including Eurostat figures, capture female farm holders but overlook the scale of informal and unpaid labour performed by spouses (mainly women) on farms, resulting in an incomplete picture. Research highlights that the CAP remains largely gender-blind, despite EU commitments to gender equality. The European Parliament has consistently addressed gender equality in agriculture through multiple resolutions, highlighting women’s key role in rural economies while calling for more targeted support and better gender-disaggregated data. The proposed multiannual financial framework for the years 2028 to 2034, with its new structure of bringing several sectoral rules under a single legislative framework, would elevate gender equality to a structurally embedded horizontal principle across several EU policy areas, including agriculture – a sector where gender mainstreaming has historically been treated as an afterthought.
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O artigo foi publicado originalmente em Think Tank – Parlamento Europeu.
