abstract: 'Certification programs seek to promote decent work in global

  agriculture, yet little is known about their gender standards and

  implications for female workers, who are often the most disadvantaged.

  This study outlines the gender standard domains of major agricultural

  certifications, showing how some programs (Fair Trade USA, Rainforest)

  prioritize addressing gender equality in employment and others

  (Fairtrade International, UTZ) incorporate wider gender rights. To

  illuminate the implications of gender standards in practice, I analyze

  Fairtrade certification and worker experience on certified flower

  plantations in Ecuador, drawing on a qualitative and quantitative field

  research study. (1) I show how Fairtrade seeks to bolster the wellbeing

  of female workers, addressing their workplace needs via equal

  employment, treatment, and remuneration standards and their reproductive

  needs via maternity leave and childcare services. My research

  demonstrates that for female workers, addressing family responsibilities

  is critical, since they shape women''s ability to take paid jobs, their

  employment needs, and their overall wellbeing. (2) I show how Fairtrade

  seeks to bolster the rights of women workers through individual and

  collective capacity building standards. My findings reveal how promoting

  women''s individual empowerment serves as a precondition for collective

  empowerment, and how targeting traditional labor rights is insufficient

  for empowering female workers, since their strategic choices are

  curtailed largely outside the workplace. While Fairtrade certification

  bolsters the wellbeing and rights of female workers in and beyond the

  workplace, much still needs to be done before women can claim their

  rights as workers and citizens.'
affiliation: 'Raynolds, LT (Corresponding Author), Colorado State Univ, Ctr Fair \&
  Alternat Trade, Sociol Dept, Ft Collins, CO 80538 USA.

  Raynolds, Laura T., Colorado State Univ, Ctr Fair \& Alternat Trade, Sociol Dept,
  Ft Collins, CO 80538 USA.'
author: Raynolds, Laura T.
author-email: Laura.Raynolds@colostate.edu
author_list:
- family: Raynolds
  given: Laura T.
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1007/s10460-020-10171-0
earlyaccessdate: OCT 2020
eissn: 1572-8366
files: []
issn: 0889-048X
journal: AGRICULTURE AND HUMAN VALUES
keywords: Gender; Empowerment; Certification; Fair trade; Labor standards; Ecuador
keywords-plus: 'CORPORATE SOCIAL-RESPONSIBILITY; FAMILY NORMS; TRADE; FAIR; STANDARDS;

  CONTRADICTIONS; PARTICIPATION; REVOLUTION; VIOLENCE; MARKETS'
language: English
month: SEP
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '84'
orcid-numbers: Raynolds, Laura/0000-0001-5795-3169
pages: 657-675
papis_id: f489ca05d6404db3dddee12f1c790ed6
ref: Raynolds2021genderequity
researcherid-numbers: ', Laura Raynolds/JCE-2745-2023

  '
times-cited: '10'
title: 'Gender equity, labor rights, and women''s empowerment: lessons from Fairtrade
  certification in Ecuador flower plantations'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000577275400002
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '18'
volume: '38'
web-of-science-categories: 'Agriculture, Multidisciplinary; History \& Philosophy
  Of Science;

  Sociology'
year: '2021'