Copa’s Women Committtee elects new Chairwoman to tackle gender equality in rural areas

Speaking after her election, Lotta Folkesson said “A top priority for me will be to improve the legal status of women farmers in family businesses so that they have equal rights. We have also spouses working full time or part time on the farms without social protection, salaries or coverage for occupational accidents.They need better access to basic infrastructures too like broadband and social services such as childcare, to ensure a balance between work and family life.  

Lotta Folkesson from the Swedish Farm Organisation LRF will take over the good work of her predecessor Willemien Koning-Hoeve who was very successful, for example, in work close to MEPs on a report on improving conditions for women in rural areas which was adopted last April and drawn up by the MEPs Petir and Senra Rodriguez. “It took on board many of our recommendations and points out that women in rural areas suffer from serious gender pay and pension gaps which need to be improved” She will also work on the 62nd session of the UN Committee on the Status of Women. It will be next year in New York and it will focus on the“Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls”. Lotta Folkesson will be supported by 2 Vice-Chairwomen Danuta Lebioda from the Polish Farm Orgaisation (KRIR) and Francesca Gironi from the Italian Farmers Union Coldiretti. Willemien Koning-Hoeve from the Dutch Farmers Organization (LTO) and Margit Batthyany-Schmidt from the Hungarian Agricultural Chambers (HCA) will be also members of the Bureau