From Cherry to Cup: The Transformative Role of Women in Specialty Coffee in Latin America

Evelin Escalona and Leopoldo Yanes

SAP Southern Studies, 2026

Abstract: This essay analyzes the transformative role of women in traditional coffee farming and their strategic transition into the dynamic specialty coffee market in Latin America. Although women make up as much as 70% of the workforce during key stages such as harvesting and manual sorting, their role has historically been rendered invisible under the classification of unpaid family labor. This exclusion is perpetuated by structural gaps, notably unequal access to land titles, critical barriers to obtaining agricultural credit, and a rigid gender-based division of labor. Against this backdrop, the rise of specialty coffee (defined by scores exceeding 80 points, strict traceability, and the value placed on origin stories) emerges as a socioeconomic turning point. Flagship regional initiatives, such as the pioneering "Café Femenino" program and cooperative efforts in Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, Brazil, and Venezuela, demonstrate that producing distinctive microlots generates higher income and fosters social autonomy. However, the research warns of the latent risk that the "Women's Coffee" concept could be reduced to a marketing narrative that masks the heavy workload borne by female producers due to the persistence of "triple burdens" (productive, reproductive, and community work). Ultimately, the study concludes that the viability and sustainability of Latin American coffee farming depend on genuine inclusion, transforming women's operational roles into autonomous leadership within the sector.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cwf:ssarti:ss202695

DOI: 10.62486/ss202695

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