INTERNATIONAL: World Hunger: Treating Women and Girls as Equals is Key to Enough Food

In 1989, at the outset of my 21-year journey with Heifer International, I spent much of that first year going to farmers around the world to learn firsthand their needs, challenges, goals and dreams. On one of my first visits, women in a Zimbabwean village welcomed me into their community. We sat cross-legged on the bare ground as chickens walked past and men gazed at us from a distance. I asked the women about their hopes and dreams - a question none of them had ever heard. They were mothers and wives, responsible for producing food and preparing it, managing livestock, and walking a considerable distance daily to obtain water and firewood. It was their husbands who owned property, were educated and made the decisions. The men were considered to be the farmers. And the women? The "farmers' wives."

In reality, women produce over half of the world's food and between 60 and 80 percent of the food in most developing countries. They are a repository of knowledge about preserving seeds and other genetic resources and can track the source of their food to its origin. I saw immediately that first year that most efforts to improve crop and livestock management were not reaching the individuals responsible for the hands-on labor. Thus began Heifer's WiLD program - Women in Livestock Development - which evolved into a robust gender-equity program.

Without question, eradicating hunger and poverty is a prerequisite for peace, but that eradication cannot be achieved unless our girls are given the same opportunities as our boys, and unless our women are treated as equal to our men. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: "You know the proverb, 'Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, but teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime.' If you teach a woman to fish, the impact is even greater. It takes a woman to teach a village."

In 1991, 77 percent of the jobs held by women in developing countries were in vulnerable employment, but, by 2009, this had fallen to 65 percent. Gains are also being made in equalizing school attendance. In 1991, 67 girls for every 100 boys were enrolled in post-secondary education; in 2008, 97 girls were enrolled for every 100 boys.

Progress is slow, but we are moving forward. As I learned from those women in Zimbabwe: Tinogona (from the Shona language of Zimbabwe), "It is achievable." I have seen this over two decades of working to end hunger and poverty. I have joined hands with women - victims of war or genocide, those living with HIV/AIDS, widows raising orphans as well as their own children - who have risen above hunger and poverty to create sustainable livelihoods for themselves and their households. I have witnessed husbands come to realize that treating their wives with respect and equality sows the seeds for a happier home, healthier children and a stronger community.

To continue to move forward, we must listen to the voices of both women and men farmers around the world, and respond to their wisdom, experiences and needs.

Those of us who advocate for gender equity have many reasons to celebrate today. The White House has appointed an ambassador-at-large for women's issues, Melanne Verveer. The United Nations has developed the U.N. Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, led by former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. President Obama recently signed a Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development to elevate development beside diplomacy and defense and help ensure that we address basic human needs such as adequate food, clean water, shelter, health care, literacy and improved opportunities for women and girls. Two of the Millennium Development Goals - Gender Equality and Maternal Health - speak directly to women.

But whether we make great strides will depend on how successfully we ensure equal opportunities for all people. Continued progress will require unity across the private sector, NGOs, agri-business and government. All global citizens must take ownership of what threatens our world. As it is said in Kenya, "Harambee." Together we can do it.