ABSTRACT
This chapter examines regional differences in gendered employment in agriculture and explores time use in rural areas and describes new types of rural employment. In the countries of Central and Eastern Europe counterurbanization is beginning, as people leave the cities to live more cheaply in rural areas by growing their own food and using wood for heating instead of expensive electricity. In Latin America official estimates of the proportion of women in the rural labour force in 1994, as compared to other studies, were much lower: in Colombia the official figure was 26 per cent as compared to the studies’ estimate of 51 per cent. Women make essential contributions to the rural economy in sub-Saharan Africa. The use of mobile phones by female farmers contributes to improving farming practices and closing gender gaps in yields and productivity as well as increasing their economic outcomes, contributing to improved rural livelihoods, food security and the sustainability of rural systems.
