On March 7th, the eve of International Women's Day, a launch event was held at the Houses of Parliament for the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI). The Index was released at the UN in New York on February 28.

The theme for this year's International Women's Day is "Empower Rural Women — End Hunger and Poverty". Women play a critical role in agriculture in developing countries but face serious obstacles and economic constraints.

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), a new tool developed by IFPRI, the US Government’s Feed the Future initiative, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), measures the empowerment, agency, and inclusion of women in the agriculture sector. The WEAI is a composite measurement tool that allows researchers to identify women who are disempowered and understand how to increase autonomy and decisionmaking in key domains.

IFPRI senior researcher Ruth Meinzen-Dick joined colleagues from USAID, Feed the Future and OPHI in presenting the new tool at the event in London.