A Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Perspective for International Women’s Day

Across Rwanda, long before markets open, farmers are already in their fields - harvesting vegetables, sorting produce, and preparing food that will nourish families and communities. Yet, what happens after harvest is just as important as production itself.

Without reliable storage, transport, and cooling infrastructure, a significant share of perishable food can be lost before reaching consumers. Globally, around 30–40% of food is lost after harvest, much of it due to inadequate storage and cold-chain systems. These losses represent not only wasted food but also lost income for farmers and missed opportunities to strengthen food security.

Cooling systems also play a critical role beyond food preservation. They are essential for storing vaccines, medicines, and other temperature-sensitive health products, making cold-chains a vital link between agrifood systems and public health systems. This reflects the broader One Health perspective, which recognises the interconnected relationship between human health, food systems, and environmental sustainability.

As the world marks International Women’s Day on the 8th March, it is an opportunity to reflect on how these systems can become more inclusive, resilient, and equitable.

Women at the Heart of Agrifood Systems

Women play a central role in food systems worldwide. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), women represent around 36% of the global agricultural workforce, and in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, they contribute nearly half of agricultural labour across production, processing, and food markets.

In Rwanda, women are deeply engaged in agriculture and agribusiness, from farming and cooperative activities to food processing and market trading. The country has also gained global recognition for its commitment to gender equality, including strong representation of women in leadership and policymaking.

Despite this progress, women still face structural barriers in accessing productive resources, infrastructure, training opportunities, and emerging technologies. These barriers become particularly visible in post-harvest systems, where access to cold storage, refrigeration technologies, and efficient logistics determines whether farmers can preserve the value of their produce or face significant losses. 

Closing these gaps is essential not only for gender equality but also for building more resilient and efficient agrifood systems.

Why Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Matters in Cooling

Cooling infrastructure is often perceived as purely technical. In reality, access to technology and infrastructure is shaped by social and economic dynamics. A Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) perspective ensures that investments in sustainable cooling benefit diverse groups across society. It encourages institutions to ask critical questions:

• Who has access to cooling infrastructure?
• Who participates in technical training and innovation?
• Who benefits economically from cold-chain services?

Globally, women remain significantly underrepresented in technical fields such as engineering and refrigeration. UNESCO estimates that women represent only around 28% of the global STEM workforce, highlighting the importance of creating pathways for women to participate in emerging technological sectors. 

Integrating GESI into sustainable cooling initiatives, therefore, contributes not only to equity but also to innovation, workforce diversity, and inclusive economic growth.

ACES's Contribution to Inclusive Cooling

The Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain (ACES) works to strengthen sustainable cooling systems that support agrifood value chains, public health, and climate resilience. 

Through research, innovation, and capacity-building programmes, ACES contributes to developing the expertise required to design and implement sustainable cold-chain solutions.

Importantly, ACES also recognises the importance of inclusion within these systems. As part of its commitment to Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI), the Centre supports initiatives that promote participation and leadership opportunities across its programmes. 

These efforts include GESI training initiatives designed to strengthen awareness and capacity so that inclusive approaches are integrated into research, training, and innovation in sustainable cooling.

Examples of ACES’s contributions include:

• Staffing: ACES employs 33 staff, 15 of whom are women (45%).
• Education: In 2025, ACES trained 217 women, representing 41.3% of all students trained on campus.
• Reach: In 2025, 526 students were trained either on-site at ACES or via online learning modules, with a further 176 farmers trained through targeted workshops.
• Regional Impact: Seven different countries have been represented in ACES training courses; trainees have come from Ethiopia, Uganda, Congo, Burundi, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.

Through these initiatives, ACES contributes to strengthening sustainable cooling capacity while also encouraging greater participation of women and youth in emerging sectors such as refrigeration engineering, cold-chain logistics, and sustainable agrifood systems.

Looking Ahead

As global populations grow and climate pressures intensify, sustainable cooling will play an increasingly important role in strengthening food security, reducing food loss, and supporting resilient health systems.

However, resilient infrastructure alone is not enough. Ensuring that these systems are inclusive, accessible to women, youth, and diverse communities, is equally important. 

By integrating Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) into research, training, and innovation, initiatives such as those led by ACES are helping ensure that the benefits of sustainable cooling reach a broader range of people.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, this serves as a reminder that sustainable development is strongest when innovation and inclusion advance together.