Mujeres: semillas de cambio y libertad

Abstract

The following research demonstrates the potential of women who are part of agroecological organizations to contribute to the development of the province of Azuay, especially in the spheres of popular and solidarity economics, food sovereignty from agroecological practices, and in environmental, social, and political systems, all of which are fundamental to local development, essentially for the sustainability of life. To visualize the urgency of overcoming the capitalist, androcentric, and patriarchal relations that condition the unequal participation of men and women in all areas of life is fundamental to the construction of an equitable and egalitarian society.

Equal participation in opportunities constitutes a fundamental tool with which to combat gender inequality. In this sense, it is essential to identify under which conditions women participate in these spaces, for which the present research analyzes the current situation of men and women in agroecological organizations in the following areas: sociodemographic, sociolaboral, socioeconomic, socioenvironmental, and sociopolitical, as well as the families of the associated persons, to determine the influence of gender roles on associative participation, and how these factors explain it.

The results evidence how women build lives, families, organizations, and dreams around agroecology, altogether supporting the construction of societies in which differences are not considered inequalities, since they only seek a better future for themselves, for their families, and for their communities (Barrera, 2010), becoming seeds for societal change.