This paper examines drivers of rural vulnerability and how the challenge of rural vulnerability can be addressed by promoting socio-economic empowerment, enhancing socio-economic inclusion and building resilience of the most vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalized populations in order to promote employment and Decent Work in rural economies. It puts emphasis on the need to identify who are the vulnerable groups in the rural economy, what challenges they face and the risks they are exposed to, and how vulnerability affects decent work opportunities and conditions in the rural economy. The document takes as source of analysis country cases that have experienced different risks or threats and highlights different ILO’s approaches and tools that have been applied to tackle them.