Empoderamento feminino na agricultura: um estudo na Lar Cooperativa Agroindustrial (Paraná)

The objective of this work was to measure and analyze the empowerment of women, mostly farmers, who were members of Lar Cooperativa Agroindustrial themselves or affiliated with the cooperative through their husbands’ memberships. Results were based on, primary data collected through questionnaires applied to 150 husband-and-wife farm couples, totaling 300 respondents. Based on these data, an adaptation of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) was constructed. The result of the adapted WEAI empowerment score for women indicated that they were empowered, as they met the standards for more than 80% of the indicators considered. The sensitivity test regarding other cutoff points confirmed this result. However, although women presented a high level of empowerment, the disparity between genders in favor of men still persisted. In other words, it is evident that, despite the high status of women in agriculture in the western region of Paraná, the gap between genders in favor of men prevails. Finally, it was found that respondents have a positive perception towards entrepreneurship and recognize the importance of activities that encourage greater female participation in agriculture, especially for those activities promoted by the Cooperative.