The Fairest of Them All: Exploring the Effect of Fairtrade Certification on Gender Equality in Coffee Farms Across the Coffee Belt Regions

Abstract

At the core of Fairtrade is the goal to improve the welfare of the coffee farmers of small-scale producer organizations in developing producer countries. With Fairtrade certification, coffee farms can receive stability and protection in highly volatile markets. This paper focuses on one of these protective goals in particular: gender equality (Sustainable Development Goal 5). It will measure the impact of Fairtrade on the Gini Coefficient, participation rates, and wages for countries being studied in the Coffee Bean Belt Region. This paper will explore the aggregate benefit of certification and the extent to which certification does or does not achieve its intended purpose of empowering women and promoting gender equality. Using a panel data of 11 countries (Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Uganda, Vietnam) from the years 1990 to 2019, this paper will run multivariate regressions with country and year fixed effects on variables that measure the years that Fairtrade was binding and the price premium of Fairtrade coffee.