Young Women's Empowerment
#worldfoodforum
A better food future for young women
Young women play a central role in agrifood systems – spanning food production, science, innovation, entrepreneurship and community engagement. Yet their contributions are often overlooked, with intersecting barriers related to age and gender limiting their agency, access to opportunities and representation in decision‑making. Their leadership is essential to building agrifood systems that are more inclusive, sustainable and resilient.
The WFF Young Women's Empowerment Programme aims to place young women at the centre of agrifood systems transformation, supporting their leadership, innovation and engagement at all levels – from the individual and community to the institutional and policy, through empowerment and collective action.
Our approach
Through a twin-track approach, the Programme promotes gender mainstreaming by integrating the needs and opportunities of young women across all WFF Youth Initiative activities, while also delivering targeted interventions to address the structural barriers they face in agrifood systems. Through this approach, the Programme places young women at the heart of agrifood systems transformation.
How do we do this?
The Programme is structured in a learning-leveraging-leading reinforcing cycle: if young women in agrifood systems are equipped with the relevant knowledge, skills and leadership capacities (learning), and if they are provided with structured opportunities, networks and platforms to apply them collectively in decision-making and advocacy spaces (leveraging), then they emerge as empowered leaders and change agents (leading) – influencing communities, institutions and policy processes and driving local impact toward more inclusive, gender-responsive agrifood governance at local, national and global levels.
Learning
The Programme addresses the gender gap in access to agrifood systems learning opportunities – capacity development, skills training, professional training and re-training and experiential learning – equipping young women with the knowledge, skills and competencies to engage meaningfully across agrifood systems and expand their economic opportunities.
Leveraging
As young women strengthen their capacities, the Programme creates and leverages spaces for them to actively participate in decision-making processes and translate knowledge into influence.
Key examples include the Youth Assembly thematic area on Young Women's Empowerment and Young Women's Empowerment Working Groups within the WFF National Youth Chapters.
Through global and local advocacy mechanisms, young women are supported to apply their learning to shape policies and drive for agrifood systems transformation
Leading
By engaging in advocacy and decision-making, young women emerge as leaders of change. These leaders, in turn, mentor peers, drive collective action, and strengthen learning and leveraging opportunities for others, ensuring the cycle is self-sustaining.
Voicing young women's priorities for a better agrifood future
A dedicated space for young women to shape agrifood systems.
.jpg?sfvrsn=e110092d_3&Status=Master)
Raising awareness on young women's role in agrifood systems
Showcasing women's contributions, brought to life through youth-focused communication and impact screenings.
Strengthening capacities of young women to lead agrifood systems transformations
Equipping the next generation of women leaders in agrifood systems.
Activities
activities
WFF NATIONAL YOUTH CHAPTERS
activities
YOUTH FOOD LAB
activities
AGRIFOOD LEADERSHIP EDUCATION PROGRAMME
activities
STARTUP INNOVATION AWARDS
News
An initiative of 