This study provides a global-scale analysis of gender employment gaps in agri-food value chains (AVCs) in order to identify how women’s roles in AVCs shift with the structural transformation of economies. Using labor data from the International Labor Organization and multi-regional input output tables from Eora, we leverage the new Global Food Dollar factor and industry decomposition method (Yi et al., 2024) to estimate gendered employment and average compensation patterns across six AVC industries for each of 108 countries over 29 years. We show how, as national income grows, female employment shifts from poorly compensated primary production to slightly better-compensated, consumer-facing retail and food service jobs. The best-compensated, midstream jobs – in food and beverage manufacturing and processing, transport, and wholesaling – remain male-dominated throughout the course of economic development. Our analysis shows how even with labor movement out of agriculture and changes in female labor force participation over the course of structural transformation, gender employment gaps persist across the AVC, contributing significantly to gender earnings gaps in the broader economy.