This paper unravels the gender relations in rural forest-dependent communities in Ethiopia by taking a closer look at the country’s Bale Ecoregion, located in the Oromia regional state. Drawing on primary quantitative and qualitative data, the paper explores women’s roles as users of forest resources and in forest resource management, before reflecting on the construction and dynamics of gender norms in Bale. The conclusions show the implications of gender norms for women in Bale while reviewing that not all women are the same and face different opportunities and constraints. 

‘How gender norms impact women’s role in forest use and forest management— illustrations from Ethiopia’s Bale Ecoregion’ shows that any interventions seeking to strengthen community-based forest management need to pay close attention to gender equality and should focus on building women’s ability to exercise rights—e.g. rights to access forest resources and to hold leadership roles in PFM decision-making. The diversity of women (and their lived experiences) and the structural dynamics of gender relations speak out to the complexities that need to be confronted, denouncing any prospects for quick and easy solutions.