Short Abstract:

The Vulnerability among women to experience food insecurity remains high during crises, while they ensure food security within the household, they are more likely to be nutrition insecure due to prevalent gender roles. The paper suggests capability building through women-centered support networks by incorporating the use of informational nudges to encourage women to form social networks.

Long Abstract:

Introduction

The Vulnerability among women to experience food insecurity remains high during health and economic emergencies, while they ensure food security within the household, they are more likely to be food and nutrition insecure due to prevalent gender roles. The Gallop World Poll (GWP) statistics based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) report a significant gender gap of 2.4 percent globally in 2023. Gender roles and practices act as a constraint in ensuring sufficient and nutritious food at all times for women. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the 1996 Food Summit adopted a multidimensional definition of food security built upon the pillars of availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability, which “exist when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”. FAO (2023), reported an increase of 122 million people experiencing hunger over the pre-pandemic level in 2019. The estimates pose a challenge to achieve zero hunger by 2030. COVID-19 and the ongoing global conflicts have exacerbated the livelihoods conditions around the globe, in the form of increased food prices, reduced disposable income, and rising inequalities. The vulnerable segments have disproportionately felt the brunt of this (Gettleman &Raj, 2020; Mishra & Rampal, 2020; FAO 2023). The FIES data shows a continuum of gender disparity attributed to 10.6 percent of women being subjected to severe food insecurity compared to men at 9.6 percent (FAO, 2022).

The situation of experiencing food insecurity due to the practice of gender roles is found to be common in developed nations and developing nations. Grimaccia and Naccarato (2020), report food insecurity among European women and the factors associated with food insecurity include lack of education, household size, and marital status. Brunelli and Viviani (2014) as per Nord's report women in American households are at a greater risk of experiencing food insecurity in comparison to men at similar income levels. Similarly, Aurino (2016) reports the existence of food insecurity among Indian adolescent girls, who have less access to quality food in comparison to adolescent boys.

The disparities according to previous studies are attributed to a lack of opportunities and social norms that consider women as inferior beings (Mishra and Rampal, 2020; Jayachandran, 2015). Ezememari et al. (2002) explain that gender differences stem from social norms, roles and responsibilities, and limited control over assets (Brown et al., 2017). The practice of allocating additional food to the male member (Broussard, 2012), and instances of women eating last in Indian households (Agarwal, 2021), suggest the ultimate utilization and allocation of food is individual behavior and is shaped by institutional factors (Alexandri, 2015; Burchi & Maro, 2016). The gendered social practices and norms form the very basis of women's exposure to food insecurity due to low economic resilience, autonomy, and bargaining power within the household (Agarwal, 2021; Broussard, 2019; Mane et al., 2023). The existing policies address the concern by providing access to education, income, and food aid.

The paper suggests the need for gender-driven policies to supplement the efforts of existing policies and to contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goal of eliminating Hunger by 2030. Therefore, the paper builds upon capability building through women-centered support networks. It incorporates the use of informational nudges as interventions to encourage women to join and form social networks to build resiliency and close the gender gap in food security. Vansteenkiste & Schuller (2018) provide evidence by documenting a women-centered organization in Haiti that strategically enhances individual and collective capabilities. Broussard's (2019) study explains the 7 percent and 20 percent of the gender gap in food insecurity through support groups. Agarwal (2021), documents Kudumbashree Mission's: (social support group) efforts during the pandemic in containing hunger and building sustenance. Broussard (2019), through her work, puts importance on social support groups in providing bargaining power to women within the household and building capabilities. According to Sen & Dreze (1989), building capabilities would ensure individuals have command over commodities, be food secure, and escape situations of food insecurity. These networks may provide women with increased bargaining power, political representation, and skills thereby reducing their exposure to shocks and increasing their resiliency in the long term.

Methodology

The proposed research will draw upon an empirical framework guided by the theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen 1991). The paper aims to encourage women to form Social support networks by exposing them to informational nudges. The existing studies on the use of nudges (Royer & Wharton, 2023; Muryama et. al., 2023; Gregor & Archer, 2016) will be taken as a basis for designing the intervention.

Target group: The target group is the vulnerable section which includes daily wage laborers, street vendors, and women-headed households for the identified region.

The study will undertake a comparative study. The pre-intervention phase includes administering the FIES-based questionnaire and exposing the target group to informational nudges. The post-intervention phase will include assessing their experience associated with food insecurity as a result of joining a support network through the FIES-based questionnaire.

Preliminary Discussion

The informational nudge intends to inform the target group of the effectiveness of the support groups in building capabilities that act as a safety net during exigencies. The implementation and effectiveness of nudges differ in cultural and social settings (Murayama et. al., 2023), the designing and modification of the intervention require the involvement of the targetted community to decompose interaction elements within the community.

Conclusion

The proposed application of a nudge and group-centered approach works on the access and stability dimensions of the food security definition. The intervention is an effort to address the instances of food insecurity among women due to the existence of gender roles and intra-household disparity. The support network as established through past studies provides women with bargaining power within the household, thereby building resiliency and capabilities to be food secure in the long run, contributing to the attainment of SDG goal 2.