During the last decade political interest in the situation of rural women in Europe has increased considerably: Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as well as national policies for agriculture and rural development aim to realize gender equality. Furthermore, various studies, often initiated by political actors, underline the importance of women in rural areas as “human capital” and “drivers of
innovation”.

I will argue that to really estimate the status quo of gender relations in rural areas, they need to be discussed in light of some fundamental ideas on discrimination and empowerment, and that linkages between the discourses on (rural) gender relations on the one hand and sustainable development on the
other might open up a productive analytic perspective. For this purpose, I bring together two concepts that highlight the effects of policy on (rural) gender relations:
1. “The Feminization of Agriculture”: this is a concept in rural sociology that is meant to explain the quantitative and qualitative changes in rural gender relations with regard to the division and diversification of work, the contribution to family income etc. It allows a focus on the level of the individual women in rural areas and is mainly based on empirical findings.
2. “The Concept of (Re)Productivity”: this is a feminist economic concept that analyses both the relations between nature and society and between the genders. This concept, mainly based on theoretical considerations, asks for a mode of a sustainable economy which will preserve and regenerate society’s ecological and social foundations.

By discussing the various empirical and theoretical findings (e. g. regarding the commodification of the female economy) I aim to develop a theoretical framework to evaluate the (changing) gender relations in rural areas. Using a survey of political actors in Germany as an example, I hope to
demonstrate the relevance of my approach.

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