On the Ground • In the last 30 years, women have increased in SRM membership percentage, which appears to have paralleled the number of women hired into academic positions and women entering the discipline. • Although the history of women as SRM members and rangeland educators is relatively short, the increase seems to reflect that of related disciplines. • Gender demographic changes have increased diversity within the SRM and many academic institutions, enhancing what each offers. • Disproportionately fewer women receiving recognition and advancing to leadership positions within SRM or higher ranks within academia may reflect opportunities for the range profession to address.

On the Ground • Mongolian pastoral women have essential roles as caregivers to their families, keeping their household members well fed, adequately dressed, and clean. However, when they are forced to lead their households alone, female-led families are more vulnerable because of limited assets and restricted access to information and knowledge exchange. • When women are entrusted with leadership of their communities, they demonstrate equal leadership qualities, reputation, and governance processes over rangeland management with their male counterparts. • Women leaders display superior trust building among their community members when compared with the men. • We recommend empowering women by increasing their leadership roles in formal community organizations.

On the Ground • The field of rangeland science and management is working to incorporate women’s voices and a better understanding of women’s decision-making roles into our research priorities and Extension practices. • The Wyoming Women in Range program offers a success story of Extension programming designed to encourage women’s participation and engagement in rangeland management. • Further research is needed to understand ranching women’s needs and responsibilities as business operators, natural resource managers, wives, mothers, and off-farm wage earners.

On the Ground • In recent years women have become more visible as leaders of collaborative range management in the western United States. Drawing on the experiences of four such women, gender aspects of leadership and community activism are explored. • The four women leaders consider their efforts as “nothing special” and “business as usual”; gender considerations are not prominent in how they view their success. • Personality traits are important determinants of exceptional leadership. Although such traits are found in both men and women, there may be cases where the more feminine attributes that emphasize peacemaking, community welfare, networking, and consensus building facilitate the management of complex problems. • Collaborative leadership is vital for rangeland management. Recruiting and training such leaders should focus on identifying those with appropriate personality traits and aptitudes—regardless of gender—and providing them with the tools, skills, and support networks for success. The four successful women ranchers described here give us tangible models to replicate.

On the Ground • Native women are the fastest growing demographic among Native farmers and ranchers and have the ability, creativity, and cultural wealth to transform and restore the relationship to the land. • However, these women must be empowered in a western agricultural world that is male dominated. • Tribal self-sustainability will require changes in policies for land tenure and inclusion of women. • Native women will need to keep abreast of local and national land issues that affect our resources and that increase their knowledge and skills. • Education will give Native women and our youth the freedom to choose what is best for the future.

On the Ground • Inequities, or “gender gaps,” occur between men and women in the control over productive resources and assignment of laborious tasks. This can negatively affect women and their families. • Although detailed studies remain rare, gender gaps appear to be common in the world’s rangelands. The sizes and types of gaps vary, however. • To measure progress toward greater gender equity on rangelands, we need baseline data that quantify information for women and men separately. • Research is also needed to understand how and why gender gaps occur. This can help identify interventions to close gender gaps. • By stepping into new roles, women who live and work in rangelands can transform local ideas about what is “normal” for women to do.

On the Ground • We know relatively little about women and rangelands because gender has not been a major focus of rangeland research and outreach. • “Gender gaps” and “leaky pipelines” negatively affect women who live on rangelands as well as professional women in range research, teaching, and outreach. Fixing gaps and leaks is important for gender equity and rangeland stewardship. • Prominent barriers for women worldwide include male-dominated hierarchies, heavy workloads, and restricted access to the means of production. • Despite barriers, rangeland women are “change agents” who improve circumstances for families, peer groups, and communities. • Barriers can be addressed via research, education, and policy.