In July 2011, the CGIAR approved the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) in recognition of the importance of these systems and the potential they provide for reducing poverty. Our goal is to reduce poverty and improve food security for people whose livelihoods depend on aquatic agricultural systems. We believe we can achieve this by adopting a new and innovative research approach that will overcome past constraints and result in a deeper understanding of the multidimensional nature of poverty, the diversified livelihoods of the women and men who depend on these systems, and therefore unlock multiple opportunities for improvement. The AAS Gender Strategy will take a broader perspective, integrating efforts to redress gender disparities in resources, technologies and services with complementary efforts to promote more gender equitable systems within which poor women and men can use them. This requires a significant investment in building context-specific knowledge of the dynamics of social inequality. Key to the Program’s success therefore is to understand the systemic nature of gender inequality across program contexts in order to identify ways to create more enabling socioeconomic environments for poor women and men alike