Women organising for change in Agriculture (WOCAN)

Women organising for change in Agriculture (WOCAN) Organisation website: Our mission is to build the leadership of women in agriculture and natural resource management for organizational transformation for gender equality through an innovative approach of partnering motivated professional and rural women. WOCAN's global network of members provides skills in agriculture and natural resource management technologies, gender mainstreaming, organizational change, negotiation, policy and decision-making, participation, advocacy and women's leadership to secure women's equal access to and control of resources and benefits to improve the livelihoods of rural people. The objective of this global network is to address three major gaps that emerge from the knowledge and experiences of sustainable and rural development processes. These are: policies regarding gender within the agriculture and natural resource management sectors; roles of professional women in implementing policy objectives for rural women's empowerment and gender equality within these sectors, and organizational barriers that obstruct women from realizing positions of leadership and influence to take on such roles. WOCAN was established in 2004 to address these gaps through active, constructive collaboration with governments, NGOs, universities, international organizations and civil society groups.