Role of Women in Sector Takes Center Stage at World Olive Day

This year’s edi­tion of World Olive Day high­lighted the vital role of women in the olive oil sec­tor across the pro­duc­tion chain, from groves to tables.

Officially rec­og­nized in 2019 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Olive Tree Day, or World Olive Day, takes place each year on November 26^th.

However, this year’s cel­e­bra­tion was held on November 23^rd at the head­quar­ters of the International Olive Council (IOC) in Madrid as part of the 118^th ses­sion of its Council of Members.

Jointly orga­nized by the IOC and the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Studies (CIHEAM), the event saw the col­lab­o­ra­tion of sev­eral women’s asso­ci­a­tions across the globe, includ­ing Women in Olive Oil, Pandolea, Donne dell’Olio and the Arab and Jordanian Olive Oil Women’s Network and the Women & Olives LatAm Network.

The IOC wel­comed rep­re­sen­ta­tives of the women’s groups, the diplo­matic corps in Madrid, the heads of del­e­ga­tion and offi­cials from the IOC’s Council of Members.

“I con­grat­u­late the pres­i­dents and the mem­bers of the wom­en’s net­works for all the efforts made in real­iz­ing this excel­lent ini­tia­tive, which should cer­tainly be con­sol­i­dated and per­pet­u­ated,” Imene Trabelsi Trigui, the head of the IOC’s pro­mo­tion depart­ment, told Olive Oil Times.

“Women have always been deeply involved in man­ag­ing the olive oil value chain. Today, they are farm­ers, tasters, pro­duc­ers, chefs, researchers, teach­ers and experts in var­i­ous fields directly or indi­rectly linked to the olive oil sec­tor,” she added. ​“Thanks to their knowl­edge and expe­ri­ence, they play a cru­cial role in devel­op­ing this impor­tant field and sig­nif­i­cantly impact cur­rent and future gen­er­a­tions.”

“The work of these women effec­tively con­tributes to build­ing a dynamic olive sec­tor,” Trabelsi Trigu con­tin­ued. ​“They are com­mit­ted at regional, national lev­els and inter­na­tional lev­els to shar­ing their expe­ri­ences of best prac­tices in pro­duc­ing qual­ity olive oil, spread­ing the ben­e­fits of the Mediterranean diet of which olive oil is a fun­da­men­tal part, as well as rais­ing aware­ness of the var­i­ous uses of olive oil while pre­serv­ing its his­tor­i­cal and cul­tural her­itage and con­tribut­ing to sus­tain­able devel­op­ment prac­tices.”

Gender equal­ity and women’s empow­er­ment are pre­req­ui­sites for sus­tain­able devel­op­ment, accord­ing to the 2022 gen­der equal­ity in the Mediterranean region report from CIHEAM.

In agri­cul­ture, women rep­re­sent 43 per­cent of the global work­force, play­ing an essen­tial role in ensur­ing food secu­rity. While they accom­plish many cru­cial tasks, the mul­ti­ple roles and respon­si­bil­i­ties of women active in rural com­mu­ni­ties are often not well rec­og­nized.

By pro­mot­ing equal rights and the shar­ing of resources and respon­si­bil­i­ties between women and men, gen­der equal­ity is not only a fun­da­men­tal human right but also a key­stone of a pros­per­ous econ­omy that fos­ters sus­tain­able and inclu­sive growth.

The aim of the IOC is that the World Olive Day event and the exam­ple set by the asso­ci­a­tions involved may inspire women from all of its mem­ber coun­tries to estab­lish female-led net­works, which will help to rein­force the impor­tance of their invalu­able work in the olive oil sec­tor.

Several activ­i­ties were sched­uled for the World Olive Day cel­e­bra­tion, includ­ing a tast­ing of tra­di­tional olive oil dishes from around the world and videos high­light­ing the diver­sity of women’s roles in the sec­tor. The IOC and CIHEAM also announced the win­ners of an inter­na­tional graphic art­work com­pe­ti­tion.

The event, which cul­mi­nated in the read­ing and sign­ing of a man­i­festo for greater aware­ness and recog­ni­tion of the role of women in the olive oil sec­tor, was led by Emmanuelle Dechelette, founder of Olio Nuovo Days, who announced the speeches by the rep­re­sen­ta­tives of the asso­ci­a­tions.

Among these were Jill Myers, founder of Women in Olive Oil; Nehaya Almuhaisin, founder of the Arab Olive Oil Women’s Network; Loriana Abbruzzetti, pres­i­dent of Pandolea; Mariagrazia Bertaroli, direc­tor of Donne dell’Olio; and Laura Blanco, founder of Women and Olives LATAM.

They all expressed their com­mit­ment to pur­su­ing, with the strength of their visions and skills, the pur­poses and aims set out dur­ing World Olive Day.