The goals of poverty reduction and gender equality are interrelated. In most countries where IDE works, women play a central role in agricultural production, in livestock development, in the provision and use of water for household and farming needs, in household food security, and in the economy of poor rural households.

In order to achieve equitable poverty reduction, IDE works to ensure that women and men’s different opinions, constraints, knowledge and decision-making roles regarding all aspects of technology design, agricultural production, market linkages, and natural resource management are analyzed and addressed in project design and implementation.