SDG 17: Advances and Setbacks in Rural Women a Systematic Literature Review

1. Introduction

Rural women constitute one of the marginalized and vulnerable groups throughout the world. Despite playing a fundamental role in sustainable development and food security, they face systemic inequalities and structural limitations that limit access to resources, services and opportunities that limit their comprehensive development and academic and professional performance.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, [1] worldwide, rural women represent a quarter of the world’s population. In developing countries such as Mexico, there are 64.5 million women, 21.1% of whom are rural communities. Of the 11.4 million households that are headed by a woman, 16.2% are located in a rural area [2].

The situation is similar worldwide, as the gender gap in access to land has aggravated since, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [3], rural women own less than 20% of agricultural land worldwide, and this inequality limits their ability to develop productive agricultural activities and hinders their economic autonomy.

Regarding their political participation and decision-making, rural women face significant challenges in participating in political life and decision-making, as evidenced by the data from the Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) of 2020 [4], which notes that only 24% of parliamentary seats worldwide are occupied by women.

In turn, rural women face significant barriers in accessing education and literacy since approximately two-thirds of the 750 million illiterate adults in the world are women. Furthermore, rural girls have fewer opportunities to receive quality education due to a lack of adequate school infrastructure, poverty, and restrictive social norms [5].

For these reasons, the United Nations (UN), through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, seeks to transform the world reality, particularly for these women, since gender inequalities are manifested in each of the dimensions of sustainable development [6].

Due to the above and because the majority of gender and development indicators show that rural women are in worse condition than rural men are and that of urban women [7], it is evident that the proposal established in SDG 17 “Alliances for the Goals” encourages the strengthening of international cooperation and the generation of alliances at the national, regional, and even local levels [8] in favor of improving the living conditions of rural women, which in turn requires the definition of indicators in relation to the identification of the best practices carried out in international projects. A simple search in PROSPERO showed an absence of systematic reviews on SDG 17 and rural women, as did the absence of reporting on the indicators that are used in the scientific literature to assess progress and setbacks in SDG 17 in rural women.

Consequently, the objective is to identify the advances and setbacks in the formulation of 17 SDG indicators with respect to rural women.

2. Materials and Methods

The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023420583) and available at https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42023420583 in accordance with PRISMA recommendations for the reporting of systematic reviews.

Eligibility Criteria

Given the complexity of the review with respect to systematizing the 17 SDG indicators, all types of methodological designs that report qualitative or quantitative indicators from rural women’s Global Partnership for Sustainable Development were included.

Information Sources

The search was conducted in the MEDLINE, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases from their inception (8 Sep 2022).

The following search terms were used: Rural Women, Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. We included all types of studies where we can find indicators for the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development in Rural Women.

We used RAYYAN (automation software) to conduct group review.

Risk of Bias

Given the heterogeneity of the types of study, instruments used and procedures that we note are found in the review, we followed the Cochrane recommendations of 6 general domains.

Synthesis of Results

A quantitative summary and a qualitative summary of the data from all included studies were conducted. Due to the heterogeneity (methodological and clinical) of the studies, a meta-analysis was not performed. We believe that it is possible to integrate the set of systematized indicators into categories and subcategories; for this purpose, reflective reductions were made with the review team to adjust possible categories.

3. Results

Sixteen studies were included in the review (Figure 1).

Table 1 shows that it is possible to use qualitative methods and indicators. Although all the articles included address rural women, only 5 of them detail the characteristics of the participating women, who ranged in age from 15 to 65 years, participated in direct household activities, were involved in an association and had an education level. high school average.

The previous analysis shows that, in 6 of the 16 studies, the results of collaborative work are measured under a solely qualitative approach; in another 7, they are measured under a mixed approach; and in only 2, they are measured under a quantitative approach. Furthermore, 13 of the 16 articles are directly related to the goals of SDG 5, which refers to the search for gender equality; 7 are related to SDG 8, which is related to decent work; 4 are linked to SDG 1, which contributes to the end of poverty; and at least 3 articles correspond to SDG 3, SDG 4 or SDG 10, which focus on issues of health and well-being, quality education and reduction of inequalities.

Among the identified indicators, three were found most common: women’s entrepreneurship, women’s empowerment and gender equality. Table 2 shows the meanings of these three indicators.

Despite the various forms of collaboration aimed at empowerment, entrepreneurship and gender equality among rural women, the sociocultural context has a negative influence on the life of rural women and suppresses their right to express their opinion in making family or health decisions, which makes their development and professional growth impossible; likewise, it has been observed that their participation in the political sphere is still not very active and that in the economic aspect, it is still ignored.

Table 3 represents a reflection of the various forms of intervention presented by the authors analyzed in Table 2 and the various international, governmental, private and public organizations involved.

In brief, and according to SDG 17, to boost the growth of a country, assistance and collaborative and coordinated work from various actors are required (Table 3). However, it is important to include women in the home since their ability to participate in productive activities is limited. In this sense, incorporating women in the home into project strategies aimed at overcoming existing barriers is recommended to ensure the functioning of the project and increase similar conditions between rural women and men.

The studies were evaluated according to their risk level, which can be found in the supplementary material.

3.1. Indicator Definition

The indicators of entrepreneurship, empowerment and gender equality are defined to monitor advances in the lives of rural women as a result of global alliances for development.

3.1.1. Entrepreneurship in Women

Entrepreneurship in women is a tool that allows improving economic empowerment by identifying previously neglected needs associated with the process of generating something new to obtain benefits, personal satisfaction and independence. In the area of women, the participation of women with less preparation stands out, which is why they are avoided by the traditional labor market but who seeks to build sustainable rural communities.

They establish that social businesses are growing because they focus on reducing society’s problems (poverty, exclusion, environment, and crime) and are focused on rural women; however, their participation in the economy is limited to tasks domestic due to patriarchal habits that still persist. According to [36], social business funds that support women play an important role in their business development through the provision of financial, human and social capital resources for women’s entrepreneurship in sustainable development projects. Because they have been able to start a family business motivated by their own income to support their family or support their economic security and improve their children’s education, these microcredits are smaller in size and have high interest rates. compared to those offered for the urban or male sector, which is why they conclude that the social business fund could be the innovative solution for female entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurial women initiate, innovate and direct commercial companies with the risks involved in their operation to contribute to the development of their homes. In fact, the entrepreneurial spirit of women and innovation technologies for contributing to family income show that the contribution to households by entrepreneurial women is greater in rural areas than in urban areas; thus, governments in corresponding areas can avoid all types of gender discrimination and promote an environment of entrepreneurial culture among women because they increase family income and benefit the social environment in which they operate [37].

Ref. [38] agrees with [39,40] in that women carry out rural enterprises due to the economic need that arises in their homes due to the absence of men due to migration or separation due to gender violence. Entrepreneurship represents a gain in women’s personal achievements and is a source of personal and economic development. However, the lack of preparation for women, especially in rural areas, hinders their empowerment, which is why the participation of government entities and private and nongovernmental organizations in the field of training is essential for consolidating companies and increasing their lifespan for the benefit of communities.

In this sense, the participation of women entrepreneurs addresses and improves the most urgent social needs of the community: health, well-being, work, and economy. The entrepreneurship profile of women from the studies described above considers honesty, ethics and the ability to detect opportunities to improve personal, family and community environments [38–40].

3.1.2. Gender Equality

Gender equality seeks to ensure that men and women have access to the same rights, resources and opportunities, avoiding inequalities that prevent women and girls from continuing their studies and accessing support and stimuli for their professional and personal development.

Gender equality and the empowerment of women are issues declared a priority by international development organizations several decades ago due to the intrinsic value of equity and empirical evidence that demonstrates that the empowerment of women and girls can be a means to achieve desired development in other aspects, such as improved child health and nutrition [41].

Historically, gender equality has been measured by the United Nations (UN) according to the following indicators: the proportion of women and men at all levels of education, literacy rates, nonagricultural employment and national parliaments. From this perspective, gender equality is an aspect that has a direct impact on education and health; hence, its importance is to continue being analyzed, measured, protected and considered in the SDGs promoted by the UN since 2015, which is why it has been considered within the fifth goal of the SDGs, which seeks to achieve gender equality; eliminate discrimination against all women and girls; and allow women to fully participate in political, economic, financial and social aspects.

Despite efforts to establish indicators that allow gender equality to be objectively measured, few studies have been able to determine the direct impact that gender equality has on development projects [42].

For its part, it is important to adapt support and resources to increase gender diversity and promote economic opportunities for women through education since, if not done, the consequences generated by gender inequality can have a negative impact. negatively affects the economic, political and social development of a region by preventing poverty reduction and thus achieving the SDGs established for 2030 [43].

We find a direct link between gender equality and the educational dimension; for example, throughout history, in areas such as the Niger Delta, the literacy rates of women have been lower than those of men due to the limitation of the cultural context that girls and women have access to continuing their academic preparation after completing their first years of school despite the implementation of educational scholarship programs promoted as part of the social responsibility actions of the oil multinational companies established in the region [44].

Considering the above, gender equality is an aspect directly related to the empowerment of women and their right to education; this factor allows girls and women to prepare to participate in family decision-making and, in terms of politics, economics and society, is a dimension that is closely connected to the development and growth of countries.

3.1.3. Women’s Empowerment

It is understood as a theory of social structure that is integrated by individual, cultural and institutional dimensions and impacts all facets of daily life [45]. From the point of view of the individual dimension, empowerment is a process through which women learn, grow and are able to claim resources such as education, employment and extrafinancial support to the extent that they overcome barriers and obstacles [46–48]. However, from the perspective of the cultural dimension, empowerment consists of a series of actions based on the dignity of women [49], the revaluation of gender roles [50] and the recognition of the investment of time and energy [51] that women use due to the household tasks that have been socially imposed on them. Finally, with regard to the institutional dimension, empowerment is the effect of economic freedom that is provided to women, from the policies and programs in which countries invest [52] explicitly with funds from government offices, development programs and NGOs [53] to which monetary and health support is granted; opportunities are generated and equal rights are sought [54].

According to the above, empowerment must be economic, political, social and psychological in nature. The impact of one on the other is possible, or on the contrary, the generation of empowerment from only one aspect. For example, ecotourism [55] is solely an economic empowerment factor that provides rural women with job security and a stable income; however, it is not psychological in nature since it does not generate awareness among women about recognizing injustices. and inequalities; nor is it of a social or political nature since it does not diminish the demands of the home they have or places them in positions of authority. In contrast, [56] found that entrepreneurship is directly related to the economic, political, social and psychological empowerment of women since the more active women become in business, the greater their empowerment will be by increasing their control. about money, altering power relations in the home (by having greater decision-making power in the home) and encouraging their participation in all public spheres. For its part, the cooperative management model of community businesses with social capital (norms, beliefs and cooperation capabilities) strengthens empowerment and increases household well-being; specifically, women’s cooperatives and the microcredits granted to them contribute to increasing economic and social empowerment [57].

In this sense, it is important to consider the social, political and environmental contexts in which women find themselves to determine strategies that truly enhance women’s leadership capacities and, consequently, generate empowerment that integrates the four factors of economic, political, social and psychological. Likewise, empowerment requires not only offering women access to resources but also increasing self-awareness of existing inequalities (cultural dimension) and beliefs about one’s ability to act to address them within a supportive normative structure (institutional dimension). This is reflected in an increase in leaders’ capacity (individual dimension).

The configuration of women’s empowerment must consider and address systemic gender expectations (including formal and informal norms and restrictions) that limit women’s ability to participate and foster personal aspirations, sense of belonging and personal fulfillment [58,59]. Therefore, women’s empowerment is a multidimensional term that refers to the extent to which social interactions between actors (associations, cooperatives, community groups, residents of the community, institutions, public and private organizations, NGOs) promote or hinder women’s leadership based on their economic freedom and decision-making, as well as personal fulfillment and satisfaction.

4. Discussion

SDG 17 points out solidarity and cooperation as the main values, indicating that it is possible to achieve compliance with the other SDGs only through alliances. We found that the indicators of cooperation toward rural women have focused on entrepreneurship, empowerment and gender equality. We believe that this is because the support of government, business and civil society organizations has had a favorable impact on the benefit of society, which means that improvements are observed in the economy, education, training and in general in the community in which they live.

In this sense, analyzing different research related to global cooperation and the elimination of acts that, for gender reasons, prevent the growth and optimal performance of rural women guides the construction of a specific definition of indicators; at the same time, it allows us to specify collaborative actions between various organizations and actors, which can be replicated in other areas due to their success and those that, depending on the context, can be modified with a view to obtaining better results. It can be deduced that universities are agents of change such that this type of research promotes compliance with the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda; hence, collaborative work between higher education institutions (HEIs) is important for the development of this research [60]. Another aspect to highlight is that the participation of HEIs in addressing the social needs of rural productive projects has difficulties identifying project ideas due to the type of academic training they receive, since they are not among the rural or indigenous sectors. In addition, the lack of interest of government authorities in these types of projects is identified. For this reason, HEIs must be involved in rural productive projects before they can enable academics and researchers to establish links with the various public entities to facilitate their contributions to the communities of origin [61].

In general, the research analyzed shows that entrepreneurship is a mechanism that enhances the empowerment of women in all facets of their daily lives. The economic aspect is not the only element to be considered when referring to empowerment; this aspect demonstrates the multidimensionality of this concept; thus, both entrepreneurship and women’s empowerment contribute to achieving gender equality in the economic, social, institutional and cultural spheres.

Additionally, the link between the concepts of entrepreneurship, empowerment and gender equality is evident due to their relevance in rural areas where women play an active role, either through the contribution they make to family income or through their participation in cooperatives, associations and companies, with which they contribute to their quality of life and that of their community. However, according to the different studies analyzed, both women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship continue to be permeated by the inequalities that women face in accessing economic resources and exercising their right to education; these differences reveal the lack of social awareness and legal mechanisms that ensure access to women. Contrasting the results obtained with other research, a similar problem is observed for women: access to credit, lack of organizational structure, no training in administrative issues, lack of knowledge in marketing their products and a social environment that is not very favorable for gender equality [62]. In addition to what has been described, the rural women in the aforementioned projects dedicate excessive work to domestic and production activities, which is why they do not have family support [63].

The results highlight the need to eliminate gender discrimination with respect to low levels of education, lack of training, difficulty accessing resources from social programmes and excessive workload. Therefore, it is considered essential that global programs of governmental, nongovernmental and private organizations focus on efforts and channel resources to promote gender equality, considering the social, economic, political and environmental contexts, to potentiate the entrepreneurship, leadership and empowerment of women. Our results reaffirm that the sociocultural, personal, family and economic realities of women must be considered by companies, governments in their public policy programs, educational institutions, and NGOs to generate projects that lead to true transformation [64].

Finally, the research gives rise to a future line of research to continue analyzing the relationships and effects of gender equality, entrepreneurship and the empowerment of women, since despite being topics of interest in most related research, these studies have been carried out in isolation. Moreover, research should be carried out under a quantitative approach to intervention projects, considering indicators that reflect advances or setbacks in economic income, financial contribution, access to credit, economic independence, the useful life of companies, education and training, which reflect changes in the quality of life of rural women. Finally, because of the predominant aspects of the intervention projects presented by the different authors, we qualitatively measure the effectiveness of cooperative work and the impact of these alliances on the fulfillment of the other SDGs, specifically those related to equality. gender (5), decent work and economic growth (8) and quality education (4); leaving aside the quantitative part.

5. Conclusions

The link between the concepts of entrepreneurship, empowerment and gender equality is evident due to their relevance in rural areas where women play an active role, either through the contribution they make to family income or through their participation in cooperatives, associations, and companies, with which they contribute to their quality of life and that of their community.

On the other hand, the impact of alliances on the achievement of other SDGs clarifies the role of entrepreneurship as a means of empowering rural women and, in turn, as a catalyst for reducing the gender gap since it helps women build their own economic independence in rural areas where they often lack access to resources and opportunities, which not only strengthens their self-esteem but also helps them become more involved in decision-making and public affairs, generating a positive effect on the goals of SDGs 8, 5 and 1.