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Knowledge4Policy
Knowledge for policy
Supporting policy with scientific evidence

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  • Publication | 2026
Where Are the Women Farmers? The Gendered Effects of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy 2023–2027
Global Food and Nutrition Security

The European Commission has made an explicit commitment to gender equality. But does the EU's oldest and most financially significant common policy support this goal? This paper investigates the gendered effects of the latest reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), specifically Pillar I (Direct Support and Market Measures). Given that CAP policies are translated into National Strategic Plans (NSPs), we illustrate and ground our analysis with examples from the Dutch NSP. Following a review of the role of women in EU agriculture, we present an interpretivist policy analysis. Guided by the framework of feminist institutionalism, we examine the policy for ‘rules about gender’ and ‘rules with gendered effects’. It is concluded that the CAP, through its gender neutrality, fails to adequately consider women. Our analysis further shows that some interventions may potentially discriminate against women farmers—either creating or further solidifying structural disadvantages.