The 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was held from 6th to 17th March 2023 in New York, under the priority theme: ‘Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls’ and the review theme: ‘Challenges and opportunities in achieving Gender Equality of rural women and girls’.
The forum brought together representatives of the United Nations (UN) Member States, UN entities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private sector, international delegates and other key stakeholders from all regions of the world to discuss emerging issues affecting gender equality and the plight of women and girls. Also in attendance were Excellency Governors including the Council of Governors (CoG) Chair H.E. Anne Waiguru, H.E. Cecily Mbarire, H.E. Wavinya Ndeti, H.E. Gladys Wanga, H.E. Susan Kihika and the CEO, CoG Mary Mwiti.
In appreciation of the intrinsic linkages between land and agriculture and the critical role played by women in agricultural production, the Council of Governors (CoG) and the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action co-hosted a side event on: ‘Closing the gender gap, investing in digitization of land to protect women’s lands rights and to promote food security’. The panel session, moderated by H.E. Cecily Mbarire, brought on board Excellency Governors, Members of Parliament, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the Commission on Administrative Justice, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) as well as international representatives.
“The agriculture industry in Kenya today is becoming more intelligent, digitized, more innovative, and technologically driven in an effort to strengthen its food systems and improve security. This includes investment in ICTs, mechanization, and irrigation technologies,” noted the CoG Chair.
“Food security holds the key to the prosperity of any country and we need to work together to ensure that we provide our growing populations with safe, sufficient, and nutritious food,” added H.E. Cecily Mbarire.
The side event also provided a platform to showcase the innovations and best practices relating to food and nutrition security that contribute to effective progression in empowering women to take up leadership responsibilities at all levels of society.
One of the notable best practices highlighted includes the FAO/UN Women Climate Smart Agriculture project that is being implemented in Kitui, Laikipia, and West Pokot Counties. The project seeks to strengthen the Kenyan government’s capacity to provide a gendered perspective and promote gender equity and equality in the adoption and implementation of climate-resilient agriculture approaches. This is part of the efforts to build resilience and adapt to climate change in the ASALs.
In the same breadth, the Kirinyaga Wezesha programme was singled out for its success in supporting farmer’s groups, whose members are mostly women, to increase productivity, boost their earnings, and add value to their farm produce by leveraging innovation.

During the CSW67 Excellency Governors led by the CoG Chair H.E. Anne Waiguru also held meetings with various stakeholders to discuss possible areas of partnerships and mutual cooperation in advancing the gender equality and women empowerment agenda.

In this regard, Dr. Gaudiose Mujawamariya, the Rice Value Chain Expert and Gender Focal Point, at Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) invited the Kenyan Governors to partner with AfricaRice in achieving food and nutrition security and improving the livelihoods of farmers and other rice value-chain actors in Kenya.