Women’s participation in coffee cooperatives and associations in Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36812/pag2026321113-131Keywords:
Coffee farming, Female coffee farmers, Social participation, Associativism, Gender, Female participationAbstract
This article presents information on women's participation in coffee cooperatives and associations in Brazil and offers suggestions to strengthen women's participation and achieve equity and sustainability in the sector. Data for the period 2000-2021 was obtained through forms sent to cooperatives and associations and were presented at two events held in 2017 and 2022. The research is descriptive-exploratory, with analysis based on direct counting and percentage comparison. The results indicate that women remain a minority in cooperatives, but there is consistent growth in their participation over time. At the first event (2017), 30 % of the participating institutions had up to 5 % female members/associates. By the second event (2022), 52 % of the institutions had between 11 % and 20 % of female members/associates. Between 2016 and 2021, five cooperatives showed growth of 1.2 to 1.5 times in the number of women members. Four cooperatives presented data showing increases ranging from 3.1 to 21.7 times. An increase in the number of female members, greater involvement in women's associations, and increased productive participation were observed, although structural inequalities related to market access, governance, and public policies persist.
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