A/HRC/31/51 6. Although women produce and provide food they are often the last ones to access food for themselves. Women tend to remain invisible in decision-making processes and women are rarely an individual rights-holders, rather than a community members, mothers, farmers or care givers. Indeed, gender gaps are observed in access to all productive resources, such as land, seeds, fertilizers, pest control measures and mechanical tools, credit and extension services. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), “…inequalities between men and women in their access to productive resources, services and opportunities are one of the causes of underperformance in the agriculture sector, and contribute to deficiencies in food and nutrition security, economic growth and overall development.” 7 7. Improving this situation for women would lead to important advantages for society as a whole. It is estimated that closing the gender gap in agricultural yields would increase agricultural output in developing countries by between 2.5 and 4 percent. This in turn, could reduce the number of undernourished people in the world in the order of 12–17 percent, or as much as 150 million people.8 8. Considering the vital importance of women to the global food systems, as well as, to family budgets, this report will first outline the persistent discrimination and structural barriers that women and girls face in several fields. Despite the recognition of the vital role of women in international human rights law and policies, the situation of women with regards to implementation of right to food remains critical. This report will deal with the cultural, legal, economic, and ecological barriers that hinder the equal implementation of the right to food. It further addresses the positive role that women can play in developing solution to the posed challenges such as eliminating hunger, maintaining food security and preserving natural resources. The report particularly focuses on the importance of gendersensitive policies in the context of climate change, and the particular vulnerability of rural women. II. Social, Cultural and Structural Barriers 9. Women are disadvantaged on several social levels, largely due to the influence of patriarchal systems. All societies practice some form of social structuring based on gender roles and the impact of this has major ramifications in developing countries where resources are especially scarce. Social stratification affects women’s right to produce food by preventing them from accessing the inputs of production. This can occur either as a result of discriminatory legal barriers or from the way the market forces operate, putting women in a disadvantaged position. Women are also affected by these patriarchal structures that facilitate unequal treatment in the labour market. Even where women’s equal legal rights exist, these often fail to supersede structural barriers. 10. Social segregation based on gender, when combined with other forms of discrimination based on religion, race, ethnicity, class and caste, disadvantages women even further. 11. For example, indigenous women living in rural areas are more likely to be particularly disadvantaged in terms of the fulfillment of their rights, a trend seen in Sub- 7 8 4 CEDAW – A Tool for Gender Sensitive Agriculture and Rural Development Policy and Program Formulation, http://www.fao.org/docrep/017/i3153e/i3153e.pdf. p.1. FAO, “The State of Food and Agriculture Women In Agriculture – Closing the Gender Gap for Development”, (Rome 2011), p iv.