Fair Trade as a development strategy includes equality between men and women among its certification criteria. Following an fieldwork carried out in Chiapas, it can be seen that coffee producers obtain more economic benefits than in the traditional market, without this implying any empowerment in their surroundings. Among the strengths for implementing this criterion are the organisation of women as a basis for their development, awareness of gender inequality, access to resources and the identification of women as self-employed persons; weaknesses include the ideology of the patriarchal system, the difficulties of women being displaced, monolinguism or the naturalised assumption of their multiplicity of roles: producers, caregivers, mothers and handcuffs. ABSTRACT As a development strategy fair trade included among its certification criteria equality of rights between men and women. After a visit to the field in Chiapas, the study observed that coffee women producers apparently more financial benefits with certified product rather than with the traditional market. However, this does not impact an empowerment at the level of local communities. Severe advancements to addressing the equality criterion were found. This includes the organisation of women as a starting point for development, the raising of awareness of gender inequality, gender training for women, access to resources and the identification of women as independent assumptions. The advances of this approach including such elements that developed the ideology and the patriarchal system, the differences women experienced in moving from one place to another, monolingualism, domestic violence and the natural multiplicity of their roles as producers, carers, mothers and wives.