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| 22 apr 2016 |
17:15 |
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Strategic vision to improve the status of women farmers & close the gender equality gap
Speaking in Brussels, Chairwoman of the Women’s Committee of COPA, Willemien Koning-Hoeve, said “Even though women have higher educational qualifications, the payment gap, the pension gap and the gap in farm ownership are real. In general, the pension gap stands at 41.1% and in rural areas is sometimes 10% higher. Women represent 29% of the total farm managers and they tend to have farms 40% smaller than men”.
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"Women are ambitious and the role of women is of huge significance for the survival of family farms, that still characterise EU agriculture”, the Chairwomen said. “Women represent slightly less than 50% of the total population in rural areas but in some EU countries the assisting spouses still don’t have social security protection nor are covered against accidents in the workplace. Women involved in farming want more access to education, vocational training and new skills to feel encourage to develop entrepreneurial initiatives and to enhance their competitiveness in agriculture. But those women also need to have access to facilities and services: it’s a seven-days working period and measures as care for the elderly, childcare and sick leave replacement must be easy put in place; also the access to services as broadband will contribute to overcome the isolation of rural areas and to living standards more equivalent to those in urban areas”, she added.
The Chairwoman asked for the support of the farmers organisations, the European Commission, the Members of the European Parliament and the national authorities to work on the 6 points of this Strategic vision to foster the status of women farmers. For details of the Strategy, please see ….
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