March 12, 2025, New York: “Commit to Grow Equality (CGE): Making agrifood systems work better for women and girls,” a CSW60 side event held by FAO at the Rockefeller Foundation center.

Women are at the center of our agrifood systems. “Commit to Grow Equality is the first multistakeholder initiative that shifts the spotlight directly onto the role of women in agrifood systems. It calls for partners to make gender equality and women’s empowerment the key objective of agrifood system interventions.”

At the event FAO New York Office Director Ms. Angelica Jacome presented the first CGE progress report, promoting systemic change for gender equality and women’s empowerment, calling for actions in six key thematic areas, including enhancing women’s leadership, closing the wage gap, closing the productivity gap, among others.    

High-level representatives from Africa and Asia countries, and civil society foundations and organizations including T’ECH DP had exchanges and dialogues on the themes. Ms. Emily Coppel, Director of Food at Rockefeller emphasized the transformative role of school meals in contributing to the goals, by providing “the world’s most extensive social safety net.”   

Ref: Progress report 2025 by FAO:

Commit to Grow Equality: investing in the future of women in agrifood systems

This first progress report, published in March 2025, presents an overview of the Commit to Grow Equality initiative and highlights 17 commitments made by partners to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in agrifood systems. Within six different thematic areas, the report showcases partner-led efforts to drive meaningful change in agrifood systems under the umbrella of the Commit to Grow Equalityinitiative.