To mark this year’s International Day of Rural Women, our colleague Ana Vuin from Rural Policy Centre at SRUC, offers her insight on the role of women in agriculture and rural communities, challenges of representation, health and wellbeing, as well as opportunities to foster inclusive and fair rural society.

Title image: Hands together (Photo by Hannah Busing, Unsplash)

On October 11, 2024, the UN Women published a statement in anticipation of the International Day of Rural Women. As this day approaches, I’ve been reflecting on the narratives surrounding women in rural areas. While these messages often acknowledge women’s presence and contributions, they typically present their importance as tied to larger global challenges—such as poverty, hunger, and equity—without delving deeper into the complexities of their roles.

In a recent study conducted by my team in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), we examined the intersection of agriculture and health equity. Our work, part of the forthcoming Agriculture Health Equity Nexus report, sought to understand the health equity-related risks, challenges, and opportunities within rural settings. One key finding stood out: women play a critical role in agriculture, yet their contributions are often underrepresented in both the literature and in policy discussions.

Agriculture is frequently seen through a male lens, with much of the focus on men’s wellbeing. This makes sense given that farming, often the central aspect of rural economies, is traditionally a male-dominated industry. Consequently, initiatives to improve mental health, mitigate occupational health risks, or address pesticide exposure in rural areas tend to prioritize men, who are seen as more vulnerable to these hazards. Research highlights a range of male centred challenges, such as higher mortality and mental health issues, financial pressures, and occupational health risks.

However, women in agricultural spaces face many of the same challenges, yet their roles often remain underrepresented. In mental health and wellbeing research, for instance, the focus tends to be on the (male) farmer, not on the women who, though less visible, also bear significant burdens. Additionally, a study from 2022 showed that crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated these challenges. In Scotland, while male farmers experienced some social benefits during the pandemic, women’s workloads increased significantly due to gendered expectations around childcare, housework, and employment, leading to a higher "mental load". This highlights the gender inequality that persists in rural industries and the need for targeted mental health interventions that consider the specific pressures women face as well as the amount of the unpaid workload that is often perceived as ‘essential but expected’ (in both urban and rural areas).

Further complicating this issue is rurality itself. Attitudes and norms surrounding mental health can act as a barrier for women seeking help in rural areas. Research from Australia found that women in non-rural areas are significantly more likely to access mental health services than those in rural regions. Even when services are available, rural women tend to rely on general practitioners for mental health care, while their urban counterparts are more likely to access specialized services like psychologists. This disparity highlights the importance of context-specific interventions that consider the social and geographic challenges rural women face.

While rural women in high-income countries face significant challenges, the situation is even more complex for women in lower and middle-income countries. In 2015,  International Labour Organization released a report stating that women make up 41% of the global agricultural workforce and 49% in low-income countries. These women often take on dual roles, managing household responsibilities alongside agricultural work, yet their contributions are frequently overlooked and translate into unpaid work. The "invisible labour" of rural women underpins family farms and entire rural economies, but it also contributes to unique stressors that demand more focused research (Budge & Shortall, 2022).

Woman with livestock (Credit: SRUC)

Still, even in the face of all these inequalities and challenges, these women are still leaders, nurturers, and the backbone of their communities. In these communities, women often act as gatekeepers—managing logistics, nurturing relationships, maintaining social activities and groups, and filling critical gaps often by volunteering their limited free time to support their communities. Their roles are less visible, yet they are essential. While men often hold the formal leadership titles and public-facing roles, women drive the day-to-day life and cohesion of these areas. They are the "invisible infrastructure" that sustains rural life, their contributions undervalued because they lack the public recognition typically associated with leadership.

During my time in rural communities, I encountered countless women who fully understood the importance of their contributions to the wellbeing of their communities. Whether it was a kind elderly woman in her 70s, who dedicated her retirement to volunteering at the local tourism centre, post office, meals-on-wheels, and historical society in rural Australia, or a woman in rural Sweden who, though officially just an "administration officer" at our local research hub, was the true force behind organizing events, volunteering, and actively sustaining her community through her knowledge and skills. In Croatia, I met another remarkable woman living on an island, who chose the island life and committed her career and energy to teaching children and preserving local traditions. In all these cases, I saw women quietly holding the fabric of their communities together.

They were mothers, grandmothers, wives, teachers, and caregivers, bakers, librarians, postal workers, entrepreneurs, managers, artists, and activists. Spanning across different life stages and occupations, they shared one common trait: they were essential to the social life of their communities.

Therefore, it’s time to broaden our understanding of leadership and contribution to rural communities. Women in these areas are not simply support figures in the background—they are central to the development and wellbeing of rural life. Their work is quieter, but no less significant, and it’s crucial that we recognize and amplify their contributions in a more meaningful way.

Inspiration Point, Robertstown, South Australia (Photo by Ana Vuin)

The forthcoming WHO report: Naab, F.Z., Pate, L., Nelson, B., Vuin, A., Atterton, J. and Swift Koller, T. (forthcoming). Integrated rural development planning: Agriculture and Health Equity Nexus in the context of climate change – a rapid evidence review. World Health Organisation.

Written by Ana Vuin, with support from Francis Naab and Bryony Nelson, Rural Policy Centre, SRUC