In Ethiopia, for example, 22.2 per cent of rural women are engaged in non-farm activities, compared with 16.4 per cent of men (Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia and World Bank, 2013). In Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 48 per cent of the household members involved in non-farm activities are women, the great majority (77 per cent) of them working in wholesale and retail trade (FAO/SIDA, 2010b). Artisanal agroprocessing is a traditionally female occupation in many countries, and agro-industrial processing of high-value products such as fish, flowers and livestock products exhibits a marked occupational pattern by gender, characterized by predominantly female employment (table 4,4) and significant occupational segregation by sex.