Cultivating Women’s Leadership for Resilient Agrifood Systems

Nov 26, 2025 | Sabrina Trautman
Alliance Biodiversity & CIAT
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Women’s representation and leadership have long been recognized as drivers of more inclusive, equitable, and resilient food systems. Yet, too often, leadership is confused with a formal title or with women’s membership in groups.  

What, then, does women’s leadership in agrifood systems really mean, and what makes it transformative?  

Building on ongoing research into the quality, depth, and influence of women’s leadership, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) co-organized the session “Cultivating Women’s Leadership for Resilient Agrifood Systems” to bring these questions to the fore at the CGIAR GENDER Conference in Cape Town. 

Moderated by Marlène Elias - Gender Lead at the Alliance - the panel brought together a diverse group of experts whose work spans years of applied research and practice with women leaders: 

• Susan Kaaria, Director of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD); 
• Lauren Phillips, Deputy Director of FAO’s Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division; 
• Apurwa Sailja, Senior Project Manager at the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), India; and 
• Miranda Morgan, Researcher at the Alliance. 

The speakers addressed complex questions, including:

How can leadership by women in all their diversity contribute to just and sustainable food systems?

What does it take to support that kind of leadership?