Weather shocks and resilience to food insecurity: Exploring the role of gender and kinship norms

Abstract

Social and cultural institutions interact with environmental and individual factors, shaping resilience to external shocks. This study examines the interplay between gender-differentiated land management, kinship norms, and the effects of droughts on agricultural households’ resilience to food insecurity in rural Malawi. Female land-managed households in Matrilineal-Matrilocal villages show higher resilience with respect to other communities. However, in times of drought, these households turn out to be less resilient to food insecurity than their counterparts in other areas. In support of this result, we find evidence that, when faced with drought, female land-managed households in Matrilineal-Matrilocal communities exhibit lesser involvement in more lucrative non-farm activities and a larger decrease in livestock. The study highlights the need to consider socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental factors interactions when assessing resilience and advocates for intersectional policies enhancing women’s resilience.