Dr. Ruth Meinzen-Dick, "Research Frontiers on Empowerment of Women Farmers"

The International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 aims to raise awareness of the role of women in agrifood systems and the challenges they face. This presentation will discuss advances in understanding the empowerment of women farmers and addressing their needs.  Beginning with the conceptual foundations of empowerment, Ruth Meinzen-Dick will reflect on experiences in developing the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index and associated tools for measuring gender gaps and impacts of programs. She will then review research and progress on women’s land rights, technologies, and women’s voice in governance.  Concluding remarks will identify further critical research, programmatic, and policy needs.  

Ruth Meinzen-Dick is a Research Fellow Emeritus at the International Food Policy Research Institute. She has extensive transdisciplinary research experience in using qualitative and quantitative research methods. Her work focuses on two broad (and sometimes interrelated) areas: how institutions affect how people manage natural resources, and the role of gender in development processes. She has over 200 peer reviewed publications on land and water policy, property rights, collective action and other governance arrangements, games for experiential learning, and the impact of development interventions, drawing on fieldwork in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Ruth is a co-creator of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) and recipient of the Elinor Ostrom Collective Governance of the Commons 2019 Senior Scholar Award. She holds a PhD in development sociology from Cornell University.