Colombia: Uplifting women through floriculture

During the celebration of the International Women´s Day, Asocolflores exalted the effective rights, improvement of living conditions, and conditions of equality of the women who toil in the flower business.

"Women play a leading role in the management, preservation, and enhancement of the social and natural capital. They are the vital foundation of education in the households, and they promote respect, equality, and equity, and the fundamental basis of sustainable development" said Augusto Solano, CEO of Asocolflores.

Solano "exalted the effective rights, gender equality and, mostly, the work to modify the paradigms which have prevented recognizing their huge contribution to the development of communities and countries".

The country´s flower exports generate every year over 200,000 formal jobs, 65% of which are in the hands of women, mostly heads of households.

Thus, the Colombian floriculture contributes with 25% of the formal rural jobs held by women in Colombia. Throughout the years, this condition has characterized the components that affect the development of women and their families: education, employability, living conditions, health, and welfare.

The Colombian floriculture industry offers its working women technical training and coaching opportunities, provision of school supplies for their children to prevent school dropout, and allocation of university scholarships; access s to resources offered by different entities for acquisition of new housing, refurbishing of existing housing, or building new housing on their own land; leisure and cultural activities that teach healthy habits, recognizing talent and promoting respect for women; and promotion of safe and healthy working spaces that help protect their rights, amongst which are maternity, with nursing rooms, and disease prevention campaigns.

It is worth remembering that at the end of 2024 the Colombian Flower growers received the "Good Practices for Acknowledging Sustainable Development Award" from the Colombia / Global Compact Network, as well as the XPosible Award".

This is how the Colombia / Global Compact Network rewarded Asocolflores´ efforts to comply with the innovation criteria, quality management impact, sustainability in time, and land pertinent issues, through its gender equality and women empowerment endeavors.

On the other hand, Xposible was also granted to Asocolflores. It is one of the most important recognitions in the country, given to organizations that generate a positive impact on productivity. It was awarded to Asocolflores for contributing to closing social gaps and generating suitable conditions for women to have access, remain, and develop themselves in the flower growing sector.

Through "Blooming Together", Asocolflores coaches and advises its member companies to generate and strengthen suitable conditions for the access, permanence, and development of women in the floriculture activity, consolidating a sector free of gender-based violence.

"Blooming Together" joins "Cultivating Peace in the Family", one of the most important programs developed in the agricultural industry, which has been developed to build a culture of peace within the flower companies, their families, and the rural communities.

Implemented 25 years ago, it has been able to make its participants reflect about social relationships and the ordinary handling of tensions, disagreements, and struggles within families, changing violent behaviors for peaceful and creative alternatives, especially with regards to women.

"To acknowledge the value of women is not a mere moral obligation, as many pretend, nor a celebration or a news headline. It is a predominant need to ensure that gender equality is not just a trend, but an obligation in the wholesome development of countries. The time has come to work more for women from the different social, economic, and environmental levels", concluded Solano.