That's because women are the world's farmers, producing more than 60 percent of all food grown and consumed locally. They plant crops, gather firewood, tend animals, bring in water - they carry out all the tasks that allow families to survive day in and day out. From dawn until well after dusk, in the fields and in the forests and in the home, their toil is unfailingly arduous. In Tanzania, women work on average more than 3,000 hours a year, compared to a little more than 1,800 hours for men. Consider these statistics.
Women perform two-thirds of the world's work.
But they receive only 10 percent of the world's income, and they own 1 percent of the world's land. And without access to credit, education, training and technology, their situation is only going to get worse. Unfortunately, women themselves are the biggest victims of environmental degradation. As providers and carers, they depend on the renewability of natural systems to supply their basic needs of food, water and shelter. If the soil erodes, they cannot plant the crops they need to feed their families.