**1. Introduction**

The role of women in the agricultural sector has been on the rise in recent years. In some countries, such as Nigeria and Pakistan, women are involved in subsistence agricultural production. In addition to subsistence farming, they may also receive income from the formal and informal sectors, depending on their means of living and poverty level. In Africa, some women are willing to engage in collecting forest resources to support their families. However, inequality between men and women remains evident in some parts of Africa. This inequality reduces women's opportunities to improve their family's situation and their household economy. Additionally, women play a crucial role in food security [1].

In some regions, such as Western Europe [2], which also have a high concentration of migrant workers, there is a need for women's participation in the agricultural and industrial sectors. In other regions, such as the African continent, social pressure from ethnic groups makes it difficult for women to engage in economic activities [3].

The analysis presented in this study is based on the province of Almería, located in the south of Spain (Figure 1). This territory was chosen because Almería is one of the leading centres of fruit and vegetable production in Spain, and in Europe in general. In fact, it is known as the orchard of Europe [4]. In this region, agriculture is concentrated in three main areas: La Cañada, Campo de Níjar, and Campo de Dalías.

In terms of freshness, fruits and vegetables in Almería are considered a touchstone in Spain. The area is also considered a global reference in this sector [4,5].

The commercial system in Almería is structured at a business level as follows:


**Citation:** De Pablo Valenciano, J.; Milán-García, J.; Uribe-Toril, J.; Guerrero-Villalba, M.A. Rural Development from a Gender Perspective: The Case of Women Farmers in Southern Spain. *Land* **2021**, *10*, 75. https://doi.org/10.3390/ land10010075

Received: 20 December 2020 Accepted: 12 January 2021 Published: 15 January 2021

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**Copyright:** © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).


For the companies that sell at origin (*alhóndigas* and SAIC), the supply from the agricultural producers and the demand from the commission agents compete with sales being made through reverse (or Dutch) auctions. In turn, these brokers work for third parties, including the cooperatives themselves, APC in Almería and other provinces, and the consignees of central markets and purchasing centres of large supermarkets. While the reverse auction system originated in the Netherlands, it is no longer used in that country. However, it is still used in Belgium (known as *veiling*) and France (known as *cadran*), particularly in the Brittany region.

Companies selling at destination (cooperatives and APC) operate directly with the central purchasing agencies of supermarkets.

Figure 2 presents an overview of the main aspects of the value chain that characterise fruit- and vegetable-handling activities. As can be seen, the activities begin with the entry of products into the warehouse followed by transportation and preparation for wholesale or retail sale.

**Figure 1.** Almería, polled areas. Compiled by the authors.

This paper analyses the contribution to local development by women workers in the fruit- and vegetable-handling sector in the province of Almería (Spain) over the last five years (2015–2019). It is the continuation of research carried out during the period 2000–2014, which showed that the presence of women in this sector increased their empowerment [6]. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate whether this process of empowerment has been consolidated in recent years, guaranteeing a sustainable process of local development that permeates all sectors of the population. In addition, it evaluates the safety of women participating in the handling of fruit and vegetables, a fundamental aspect in guaranteeing this sustainability.

**Figure 2.** Handling process.

#### **2. Understanding Rural Development**

Throughout history, women's employment has been characterised by a low presence in the production chain and restrictive working conditions that have hindered their ability to balance work and family life [7]. This situation is further complicated if women's backgrounds are taken into account, as prejudices further raise barriers to women's access to the labour market [8] and the sector in which they work [9].

In recent years, general awareness of women's participation in the labour market has grown [10], highlighting the need to integrate a gender perspective into any business, as well as into social and cultural projects [11]. However, the data show that women still occupy a secondary position in the work environment, suffering from phenomena such as the well-known glass ceiling, which refers to the difficulty women have accessing high-level positions within companies [12].

At the international level, differences between countries regarding women's participation in the labour market are significant in both quantity and quality [13]. There are also differences between urban and rural environments, with the latter being the most difficult for women [14]. However, some research papers state that when men move to urban areas, it leads to a gradual feminisation of agriculture [15]. In an African context, the difference between women in rural and urban areas is significant [16]. Resources for subsistence farming in rural areas are both insufficient and lack quality. According to [17], life is neither satisfying nor decent for millions of women in rural Nigeria.

In comparison, women's participation in the fruit- and vegetable-handling sector is higher than in other primary-sector activities (fishing, livestock) or other industries (construction, technology). This is due to the characteristics of the food-handling activities, which require greater flexibility and agility [18].

The empowerment of women in the workplace is manifested in their satisfaction with the tasks they perform, with the environment they experience during the workday, as well as with the company that hires them [19]. Scientific literature has addressed the satisfaction of women workers in the fruit- and vegetable-handling sector. Researchers highlight aspects that affect satisfaction, such as the devaluation of women's work [20] or the need to improve working conditions in order to increase the satisfaction of working women, both in terms of physical and mental health [21–23].

The concept of rural development refers to the improvement of the quality of life of rural citizens through initiatives based on endogenous resources that are economically and environmentally sustainable in the long term [24]. The fruit and vegetable sector has been key to the rural development of the Almería area [4], as well as other areas of Spain, such as Huelva [25].

In rural areas, the role of women is key to developing innovative rural entrepreneurship initiatives [26]. Therefore, in Spain, a series of strategies have been articulated to

increase the empowerment of women in rural environments, such as the Strategy for Rural Modernisation and Diversification or the Strategic Plan for Equal Opportunities [27].
