Women play a key role in local communities but their contribution is often unnoticed and poorly rewarded. Ensuring equal opportunities for both sexes is vital to keeping the countryside alive.

The Agriculture Council on 17 May discussed ways to promote gender equality in rural areas on the basis of a Spanish presidency document. The presidency paper reflects the conclusions of the seminar "Women in the Sustainable Development of the Rural World" held in Cáceres, Spain, on 27-29 April.

At the May session, agriculture ministers debated the incorporation of gender aspects into the Common Agricultural Policyand had the opportunity to present how these issues are dealt with in their national agriculture and rural development policies. They considered ways of improving the situation of women, for example by integrating positive discrimination into the next rural development programming period 2014-2020.

The debate touched on issues such as diversifying rural economy - in which women are already actively involved - enhancing female representation in decision-making, promoting self-employment and business start-up among women as well as improving the use of information and communication technologies.