Gender Equity

Approximately, 2.5 billion people worldwide rely on small-scale agriculture for their livelihoods. Most of them live below the poverty line. Especially women. In 2012, Root Capital launched our Women in Agriculture (WAI) Initiative to expand access to finance and technical assistance to more women-led and gender-inclusive businesses. 10 years later, our Director of Women in Agriculture Initiative, Leonor Gutiérrez,…

Over the past 10 years, Root Capital's Women in Agriculture Initiative has helped expand gender equity in hundreds of rural communities around the world. In 2021, we reached new heights alongside women farmers, agricultural employees, and entrepreneurs.

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In the first half of 2021, Root Capital continued to invest in the success of women farmers, employees, and entrepreneurs through our Women in Agriculture Initiative. Our 2021 Mid-year Update provides an update on our progress this year, and our cumulative progress since the initiative's launch in 2012.

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In 2019, Root Capital piloted an innovative approach to strengthening women’s inclusion and climate resilience, in partnership with coffee cooperatives in Mexico and Central America. The evaluation uncovered key lessons for philanthropic and business partners. View Article

Take a look around any farming community and you’ll see countless hardworking women producing the food and other commodities that nourish our world. Women plant and tend crops, collect the harvest when it’s ready, work in sorting and processing facilities, oversee finances, manage business operations, train farmers and employees, and own rural enterprises. They constitute 43% of the agricultural workforce…

Gender lens investing is an increasingly popular approach for impact-focused investors. In just the last few years, the number of firms investing with a gender lens has exploded, and these firms have gone from raising $1.1 billion in capital in 2017 to $4.8 billion in 2019. On top of that, the global 2X Challenge…

This report documents Root Capital’s gender lens investing journey, capturing the organization’s goals and motivations, path toward realizing those goals, challenges faced, results of the work, factors behind success, and key learning.

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Recognizing the impact of climate change on women and the important role of women in mitigating its effects, in 2019 Root Capital launched its first-ever climate resilience-focused Gender Equity Grants (GEGs) in Mexico and Central America. This report, prepared by Value for Women, examines the effectiveness and relative impact of this intervention. It also recommends best practices for investors, donors, and other organizations working to promote rural women’s climate resilience through agricultural enterprises.

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Women are the backbone of the agricultural sector, composing 43% of the labor force globally and up to 80% in certain countries. But, despite their vital role, most women don’t benefit from their labor at an equal level to men. Numerous barriers—educational, economic, and social—prevent them from accessing vital resources and opportunities. But this inequity doesn’t just impact women. Gender…

At Root Capital, we believe that agricultural enterprises are one of the most effective platforms for delivering services and opportunities to rural women. This report highlights our impact in 2020, during which we supported women farmers, employees, and entrepreneurs as they promoted gender inclusion and equity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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