Introducing the AWE Newsletter
INTRODUCING THE AWE NEWSLETTER
I am thrilled to launch the AWE Program’s first newsletter. Welcome to the AWE community!
The Feed the Future Advancing Women’s Empowerment (AWE) Program brings to bear two of the main goals of the Global Food Security Strategy: (1) strengthened inclusive agriculture systems that are productive and profitable, and (2) increased gender equality and women’s empowerment. To achieve inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led growth, we need to be working with and for women, who represent more than 40 percent of developing countries’ agricultural labor force.
The AWE Program leverages resources and technical capacity to help realize these goals by further engaging women in Feed the Future’s agricultural programming and to enhance women’s empowerment in, and returns from, agricultural systems.
The program’s three broad themes of work and services are to:
- Increase capacity to analyze, use and apply gender-sensitive data and information, especially to designs and work plans
- Provide technical assistance or capacity building during a project, when challenges, opportunities or questions arise
- Find out and share “what works” (or doesn’t!) for improving women’s empowerment in agriculture “beyond production” and for more persistent, complex constraints such as high workloads, inequitable decision-making and control over income, and gender-based violence.
What most excites me is this program’s potential to connect the people and the lessons around women’s empowerment in agriculture. We know Feed the Future and agricultural projects across the world are already doing great work. We also know that many missions and projects are facing similar questions and challenges. The AWE Program will help us capture, synthesize and share the good practices and experiences that are already out there, combined with best practices that we learn together, with our partners and communities, through AWE’s technical assistance and support.
Please be on the lookout for our quarterly newsletter, where we will share important updates, successes and stories from the AWE community.
Again, we welcome you to this community and look forward to collaborating with you!
