Cashmere Value Chain: Participation of Women and Men

The Cashmere production of Mongolia is the second largest in the world after China and it has an impact not only on the economy of our country but also to some degree, on the world market. The role of the participants, both women and men, in the cashmere production process is expected to increase with the development of the cashmere sector. UNIFEM’s priority has been to ensure the economic rights of women, and to promote empowerment and the capacity of individual’s to sustain their own livelihood. As a reflection of this priority, a report entitled "Women in Mongolia: Mapping the Progress under Transition" was published in 2000. This report underlined the fact that women’s participation in cashmere production was an indicator of women’s economic participation and that the economic empowerment of women was closely interwoven with cashmere production. Building on this research, the current survey on "Cashmere Value Chain: Participation of Women and Men" has been conducted and is presented in the following pages.