Agricultural enterprises with greater women’s leadership and participation are more stable, more profitable, and less likely to default on their loans, a study from Root Capital finds. 

The report, Inclusion Pays: The Returns on Investing in Women in Agriculture (44 pages PDF), analyzes 10 years of global data including more than $1 billion in investments in support of 552 agricultural enterprises and found that women’s participation in agriculture business leads to more stable and profitable, fewer revenue dips, businesses less likely to default, and businesses more likely to secure new sources of financing. In addition, Root Capital’s data demonstrated that—controlling for the loan size, region, and industry—loans to women-led enterprises, on average, yield $17,850 more in profits than loans to non-women-led enterprises. 

“Root Capital launched the WAI in 2012 to help level the playing field for rural women through financing, training, and other resources that boost their economic opportunity and agency,” said Women in Agriculture Initiative director Leonor Gutiérrez. “To date, we have invested $545 million in over 260 gender-inclusive enterprises, reaching more than 550,000 women farmers and employees. Together with other investors, we must continue to close the gender financing gap so that women and their communities can thrive.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Boezie)