Gender Mainstreaming in the CAP strategic plan

Background and Objective

The aim of the research project is to develop a nationwide overview of entry points for the implementation of gender mainstreaming and the targeted promotion of gender equality in EAFRD funding in Germany. The research project thus contributes to the question of how EAFRD funding in Germany can contribute to the promotion of gender equality in rural areas. Although the CAP Strategic Plan (CAP-SP) for the funding period 2023 to 2027 has identified a priority need for the promotion of gender equality, this is only addressed by a few measures in some federal states.

Target Group

Those responsible for planning and implementing the CAP, interested professionals, scientists

Approach

The research project is divided into three work packages (WP). In WP 1, a screening of the regional funding programmes of the CAP-SP and the associated guidelines and other documents (e.g. the project selection criteria) is carried out, if necessary supplemented by enquiries to the responsible technical departments and managing authorities.  The screening is carried out on the basis of a catalogue of criteria developed from the relevant literature and the expertise of the project team.  With regard to the discussion on the CAP after 2027, the results of the screening will be mirrored with the needs from the perspective of key players in the agricultural sector and rural regional development (WP 2). To this end, around eight to ten interviews will be conducted and, where possible, the experiences of other funding providers with women-specific funding programmes, such as the agricultural Rentenbank, will be taken into account. The interviews will be analysed using qualitative content analysis.
Work package 3 comprises the publication of the project results as a Thünen Working Paper as well as the preparation and presentation of the project results for policy advice. In addition, the project results will help to identify the research needs for gender equality in rural development policy.

Our Research Questions

The objectives mentionend above lead to the following research questions:

1) To what extent are there beneficial approaches and obstacles with regard to gender equality in the concrete design of the funding schemes in the regional parts of the CAP Strategic Plan?

2) Is the funding programme in line with the needs of central key players in the agricultural sector and in rural regional development concerning gender equality?

3) What opportunities could be used in future to make EAFRD funding in Germany more gender-equitable?

Results

Gender equality aspects are only considered selectively in the CAP Strategic Plan and in the design of interventions at federal state level. Although the situation analysis of the CAP Strategic Plan clearly identifies the structural disadvantage of women in rural areas - especially in agriculture - this is hardly addressed in the strategy. With the exception of the ‘Innovative measures for women’ in Baden-Württemberg, there are hardly any funding measures specifically aimed at women. In some federal states, however, the structural underrepresentation of women is counteracted by minimum quotas in LEADER decision-making bodies. There is a positive consideration of women as entrepreneurs in some federal states in the project selection process, for example in the AFP or in the establishment subsidy. Overall, only a small proportion of the funds of the CAP Strategic Plan are used for measures that provide an impetus for equality or at least have the potential to do so. The majority of the funds are channelled into interventions that perpetuate existing structural disparities.

The study concludes with recommendations for action for a more gender-equitable further development of the funding.