Making up more than half of the world’s over 3 billion rural population, women in indigenous and customary communities rely on communal lands and resources for their livelihoods and well-being. Access and rights to land and natural resources enable women to ensure the sustenance and welfare of their families, increase productivity, and help drive local economies.

Yet despite the key roles they play in their communities, women tend to have less access and fewer rights to land and resources. Merely 14% of agricultural landowners globally are women, and even in indigenous groups with collective ownership of land and resources, women may lack secure land rights. This hampers their ability to fulfill their roles and cope during times of crisis.

Join WRI for an in-depth discussion with indigenous women leaders from different regions around the world. Moderated by the authors of a recent WRI report on women's land tenure, On Equal Ground: Promising Practices for Realizing Women’s Rights in Collectively Held Lands, this conversation will dive into their experiences and the lessons they’ve learned for how to secure and scale women’s rights to communal lands and resources.

This event will be available in English, French, and Spanish.

Speakers

  • Myrna Cunningham, Chairperson, Center for Autonomy and Development of Indigenous People (CADPI) and President, Fund for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC)
  • Joan Carling, Director, Indigenous Peoples Rights International
  • Celine Salcedo-La Vina, Research Associate II and Land Tenure Specialist, World Resources Institute (moderator)
  • Renee Giovarelli, Co-founder, Senior Advisor and Lawyer (moderator)