2017-05-082017-05-082017-05-05https://hdl.handle.net/11299/187933Since the 1990’s, when the cut-flower industry “boom” began in Ecuador due to public policies implemented by a neoliberal government to increase foreign investment in the economy, the lives of thousands of Ecuadorians have changed. The impact of the presence of the flower plantations, which are principally located in the Sierra region of Ecuador, has an even greater effect on the women. Many peasant farmer women who were accustomed to being “housewives” in the past have left to work in the plantations, and the influence on society is immense. For one, the economic independence of the woman has increased, while female participation in local organizations has decreased. The present study makes a diagnosis of the current organizational participation of the women in the township of Tupigachi, which is located in one of the zones most affected by the cut-flower industry, and identifies the needs and opportunities present to support the social advance of the Ecuadorian woman through future public decision-making.esFlower industrywomen's empowermentArticle