For Women in Coffee, Gender Equality is a Growing Struggle
Behind every cup of coffee is a story. Behind many stories, a struggle. Women make up almost half of the agricultural workforce worldwide, and nearly 43% in developing countries, according to this 2016 report from The State of Food and Agriculture. Coffee production, in particular, relies heavily on a female workforce. At the farm level, women laborers are largely responsible for collecting the coffee cherries, sorting the green coffee beans, overseeing the drying process, and so much more. Here, women’s struggles run the gamut, from severe income imbalances, a lack of representation, land control limitations, and – sadly – hazardous working conditions stemming from
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