Gates Foundation

Social equity

Understand and include

Sustainability also requires equity. Many smallholder farmers, particularly women, youth and members of other marginalized groups, have limited access to and control over their water and land resourcess. This inequality exacerbates malnutrition and poverty, and it imposes real costs on society by impeding agricultural output, food security and economic growth. WLE has developed a number of complementary solutions to understand how men and women use productive assets and are included in decision-making processes. WLE has also developed new tools and approaches to ensure women have equal access to such resources.