Social Media and Drone Technology: Transforming Gender Norms for Women Livestock Farmers

Small ruminants and chickens, which are often cared for by women in low- and middle-income countries, have been shown to help women become more independent and improve the nutrition of their households.

Although women do much of the work in livestock farming, they need more access to resources and power in decision-making compared to men. Gender norms, perceived as "appropriate" behavior for a woman or man, often prevent women's empowerment in agriculture by, for example, limiting their mobility, ownership of assets and resources, and decision-making about income. In the last ten years, researchers have shifted from accommodative approaches (which provide solutions that accommodate existing gender norms, e.g., by gifting women with livestock so that they can own some, rather than challenging the norm that women cannot inherit livestock, to transformative approaches, which engage communities to discuss the pros and cons of a given gender norm.