Enhancing gender equality in agroforestry systems

Practiced by rural smallholders globally, agroforestry holds great promise for rural livelihoods, climate action, restoration, biodiversity conservation, and other socio-economic and environmental goals. Yet, agroforestry systems embed significant gender differences and inequalities that hinder the achievement of these goals. In this chapter, the authors explore the nexus of gender and agroforestry to unpack how gender shapes agroforestry systems, and how these systems (re)produce gender inequalities. To support this analysis, they draw on two frameworks – the Gender at Work framework, and the Reach-Benefit-Empower-Transform framework – to understand (1) gender transformative change in and through agroforestry, and (2) a range of programmatic approaches for working with gender to support this change. To bring the discussion to life, they draw on examples of agroforestry projects that have intentionally addressed gender relations and examine how they have fared. In so doing, they highlight entry points for agroforestry interventions to promote greater equality.