Compendium of rural women’s technologies and innovations

It’s a well-worn cliché that women’s work is never done. But in many parts of the world, it’s still undeniably true.

In some parts of sub-Saharan Africa, women work over 16 hours more than men each week. The solution to rural women’s drudgery can be found in a more equitable division of labour – and in technologies that lighten the load (Carr and Hartl, 2010).

This is why one of the top targets of the proposed Sustainable Development Goal 5 – attain gender equality, empower women and girls everywhere – is to “recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care and domestic work through shared responsibility by states, private sector, communities, families, men and women, within the family and the provision of appropriate public services”.