Agriculture is considered to be the backbone of the Afghan economy, and women the backbone of the industry. However, there are far too few women in formal agricultural education courses despite national policies encouraging equal access to education. Similarly in India, studies have shown that while women participate in almost equal numbers in higher education as men, India’s female labour force participation fell from 32% to 21% from 2005 to 2019.

How then can we increase female participation in education and the workforce? In both Afghanistan and India, there is a general consensus that female role models and mentors are key to ensuring women get adequate preparation, information and support to thrive in traditionally male-dominated industries.

The importance of gender-balanced representation and mentorship cannot be overstated, to ensure economic equity and prosperity not just for individuals, but for entire industries.