Across the world, populations are facing severe threats and rising inequalities from the combined effects of climate change, environmental degradation, COVID-19, and conflict. As a result, food systems are in crisis, and people are increasingly feeling impacts on their everyday lives. For women, globally and regionally, the effect of the food systems crisis is more severe than for men. Both historically and at present, women are more food insecure and have less access to healthy food, land ownership, and resources for food production than men. Gender inequalities are woven through food systems, contributing to unjust food production, access, and consumption.

Global food system organizations are working to address some of the critical issues affecting people’s access to food and nutrition. The second annual Global Food 50/50 Report assesses whether and how such organizations are integrating gender and equality considerations in their work. It reviews the policies and practices of 51 organizations as they relate to two interlinked dimensions of inequality: inequality of opportunity in career pathways within organizations and inequality in who benefits from the global food system.

The primary aim of the Global Food 50/50 Report is to encourage food system organizations to confront and address gender inequality both within their organizations and governance structures, and in their programmatic approaches across food systems. A second aim is to increase recognition of the role that gender plays in who runs and benefits from food systems that should work for everybody: women and men, including transgender people, and people with nonbinary gender identities.

Key findings from this year’s report show that gender and geographic diversity are severely lacking in the boards of major global food organizations, with leadership positions dominated by men from the Global North. Representation from a narrow section of the global population will not lead to policies and programs that meet the needs and interests of all people, across all regions, including women. The review of board composition showed that more than 70% of board seats are held by nationals of highincome countries. Just 8% of board seats are held by women from low- and middle-income countries.