Prioritizing Gender Equality from Afterthought to Guiding Goal of Agricultural Innovation

This event is supported by the CALS Office for Diversity and Inclusion and is part of the CALS Dean’s Inclusive Excellence Seminar Series, which highlights academic excellence through inclusive science and creates a platform for extended discussions on how our science can and should be transformative in leading to best practices and policies that support social, economic, environmental and climate justice.

The CALS Dean’s Inclusive Excellence Seminar Series and the School of Integrative Plant Science present: A conversation with Hale Tufan, Ph.D.

Talk abstract:
Gender is integral to the agricultural innovation process, from technology development to access to resources that shape technology adoption. Yet there remains a distinct lack of attention to gender relations, power and agency in agricultural innovation systems, leading to gender and social inclusion remaining an afterthought in agricultural innovation processes. In this talk I will describe three research areas aiming to guide agricultural research processes and outputs to positively contribute to gender equality and social inclusion. The first area centers on frameworks and approaches for inclusive crop improvement, critical interrogation of norms and power in crop improvement, and gender training programming with the intended outcome of developing agricultural research systems that are inclusive and equitable. The second area presents development of participatory and interdisciplinary research approaches, including innovative tools and methods for gender and social difference analysis to examine how social identities and household characteristics interact with gender to shape trait preferences and determine the success of new crop varieties. The third area focuses on understanding how intrahousehold dynamics shape crop trait preferences, varietal adoption and seed systems, and how individuals within households experience benefits from agricultural technology adoption. I will explore global-local linkages around these research areas and reflect on how these linkages can guide future research directions.

Speaker Bio:

Hale Ann Tufan is a research professor in the Department of Global Development with a joint appointment in the School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University. In her work with plant breeders, social scientists, and research institutions, she explores how agricultural research processes and outputs can positively contribute to gender equality and social inclusion. Through her research to develop methods and approaches she enables gender+ analysis in agricultural research and innovation, while advocating for inclusive agricultural research by challenging power and norms in the research ecosystem. She serves in leadership positions of several grant-funded projects aimed at food security, crop improvement, seed systems, and gender relations. She is currently the associate director and priority setting co-lead of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Crop Improvement, principal investigator of the Gender Responsive Researchers Equipped for Agricultural Transformation project, principal investigator of Muhogo Bora: Cassava for All, survey division lead of NextGen Cassava, and gender research lead of the Feed the Future Insect-Resistant Eggplant Partnership. She brings a multidisciplinary background to her research spanning Ph.D.-level research in molecular plant pathogen interactions at the John Innes Centre UK., plant breeding with CIMMYT, international agricultural research for development program management, and gender research and capacity development across sub-Saharan Africa. She is the 2019 recipient of the Norman Borlaug Field Award.

Zoom Info:

https://cornell.zoom.us/j/99557023369?pwd=Q1M3bVB5WCt5aE9yWmV6TlIzUll2UT09

Meeting ID: 995 5702 3369

Passcode: 128445