The aim of this analysis is to examine the effects of the pandemic and the Government measures on the socio-economic position of women living in rural areas, with a special focus on their engagement in agriculture. Although the analysis also covered the broader effects on employment of rural women, including non-agricultural employment, it is primarily focused on women engaged in agriculture, with the aim of examining the effects of the pandemic and the Government measures on:
• agricultural activities of family farms and specifically on the roles of women related to decision-making and performing work within these farms;
• access of women and their farms to agricultural product markets, what were the key challenges and what strategies they tried to use to respond to the challenges;
• women’s social rights, primarily health, pension and disability insurance;
• doing unpaid housework and providing family care;
The research was conducted by SeConS with support of UN Women, within the project Key Steps to Gender Equality funded by the European Commission (EC).
