A recent session of the European Policy Forum, a part of the GRASS CEILING project, convened over 110 participants to discuss enhancing support for rural women and women farmers across Europe, with a specific focus on EU funds. The online event, held on March 24, 2025, spotlighted how public policies can better support women in agriculture and rural areas.
The European Association for Innovation in Local Development (AEIDL), which hosted the session as part of the GRASS CEILING project, facilitated discussions on building stronger and more inclusive public support mechanisms for the post-2027 programming period. The forum featured presentations of recent findings from the GRASS CEILING project by coordinator Sally Shortall and Charlene Lambert from the Women Entrepreneurship Platform. Blanca Casares Guillén, AEIDL policy expert and Forum coordinator, outlined the Forum’s objectives and activities, emphasising the EU’s commitment to gender equality and women’s rights.
A significant portion of the session was dedicated to examining national practices that utilise EU funds to promote gender equality in rural development. Isabel Aguilar Pastor from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food provided insights into Spain’s CAP Strategic Plan, focusing on opportunities for rural women through EARDF programming and their involvement in rural communities and the agricultural sector. Ana Lite Mateo from the Institute of Women (Spanish Ministry of Equality) discussed the Rural Women’s Challenge programme, an initiative financed by the European Social Fund to support female entrepreneurship in rural areas.
James Claffey of the Irish CAP Network detailed Ireland’s mentorship programmes and the Women’s Farmer Capital Investment Scheme, highlighting key initiatives such as ACORNS (Accelerating the Creation of Rural Nascent Start-Ups) and TAMS3 (Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme). Fiona Leslie from the Scottish Government recounted the policy journey that led to the creation of Scotland’s Women in Agriculture (WIA) Taskforce in 2019 and presented its ongoing development programme.
A high-level roundtable, moderated by Blanca Casares, explored strategies for systematising public support for women in farming and rural areas. Panellists included Elena Schubert (European Commission DG AGRI), who highlighted the European Commission’s initiatives to increase women’s participation in agriculture, such as the Vision and the Roadmap, the forthcoming Women in Farming Platform, and the Generational Renewal Strategy. Schubert stressed that greater gender inclusion could enhance competitiveness and GDP and called for better gender tracking in the EU budget.
Sally Shortall (GRASS CEILING coordinator) underscored the importance of tracking funding for women, increasing female representation in STEM and corporate boards, addressing persistent stereotypes, and leveraging regulations like parental leave. Maria Nikolopoulou (European Economic and Social Committee) emphasised the significance of regulatory measures like work-life balance and paid parental leave in supporting women and highlighted initiatives like the EU Organic Awards that “promote women’s success stories”.
Maura Farrell (FLIARA project) advocated for gender equality to be a permanent and structured element of public policy, with dedicated funding, monitoring, independent audits and visibility for women’s contributions. Sari Rautio (European Committee of the Regions) pointed out the under-representation of women in rural decision-making and called for mentoring, improved data, networking, local-level policies, positive discrimination measures, childcare support and other community-based care programmes.
Louise Méhauden (EU4Advice project) identified advisory services as a valuable resource for many women but stressed the need for gender-disaggregated data and accurate indicators and noted that the specific needs of women in value supply chains should be considered. Mar Delgado (University of Córdoba), drawing on insights from the MOVING and DESIRA projects, noted that women’s needs in farming and rural areas remain poorly understood and discussed the usefulness of online platforms, given challenges such as lack of time, digital skills, and financing. Laura Kaun (European Women’s Lobby) concluded by emphasising the importance of an equality framework that includes gender representation, care policies, and gender budgeting.
Cristina Guarda (Member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development), in a video message, echoed the panel’s consensus. Guarda called for gender equality to be a specific objective in the next CAP reform, with measurable targets, mandatory reporting, stronger coordination across EU funds, and gender-disaggregated data.
The GRASS CEILING project, a three-year multi-actor initiative funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe, aims to empower rural women and increase the number of socio-ecological innovations led by women in agriculture, the rural economy and rural communities.