Agricultural Research and Development: Understanding the Gender Perspective

Gender has emerged as a major area of interest in agriculture and rural development in recent years. In contrast to biological differences, the term 'gender' refers to the characteristics of men and women that are socially determined. Gender refers to the socially constructed distinctions between the roles and responsibilities assigned to men and women in a particular culture or location. The distinction between sex and gender is made to emphasize that everything women and men do and are expected to do, except for their sexually distinct functions (childbearing and breastfeeding; impregnation), can and does change over time and in response to changing and varied social and cultural factors. As culture evolves and socioeconomic conditions change over time, gender patterns do as well. As a result, gender is a fluid concept (Williams, 1999)