Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
Nutrients. 2023 Jun 15;15(12):2761. doi: 10.3390/nu15122761.
This study analyzed the role of women's empowerment in diversifying the diet of households through their own production. Developed from empowerment and food security theories, this study constructed measures from the household dietary diversity score (HDDS) and Women's Empowerment Index (WEI). The study focused on poverty-stricken regions in China and conducted a thematic questionnaire-based household survey on gender and food consumption in 2021. Based on micro-level evidence from 1199 rural households, this research found a low score of women's empowerment and an average WEI of 0.689; the status of diet diversity, measured by the HDDS, varied by income and social class; and the average rate was low. Agricultural production diversity and women's empowerment are positively associated with diet diversity. There is strong evidence that women's employment mitigates the side effects of decreasing production diversity on households' diet security. As a result, women's empowerment can potentially mitigate the adverse consequences of low agricultural diversification in household diet quality in less developed areas. This study provides evidence for repurposing food and agricultural policies toward healthy diets and gender-responsive agrifood systems.
本研究分析了妇女赋权通过自身生产使家庭饮食多样化的作用。本研究从赋权和粮食安全理论出发，从家庭饮食多样性得分（HDDS）和妇女赋权指数（WEI）构建了衡量指标。该研究聚焦于中国的贫困地区，于 2021 年开展了基于主题的基于性别的家庭粮食消费问卷调查。本研究基于 1199 户农村家庭的微观证据发现，妇女赋权程度得分较低，平均 WEI 为 0.689；饮食多样性的状况，由 HDDS 衡量，因收入和社会阶层而异；平均水平较低。农业生产多样性和妇女赋权与饮食多样性呈正相关。有强有力的证据表明，妇女就业减轻了生产多样性减少对家庭饮食安全的负面影响。因此，妇女赋权可能会减轻欠发达地区农业多样化程度较低对家庭饮食质量的不利后果。本研究为调整粮食和农业政策以促进健康饮食和对性别问题有敏感认识的农业食品系统提供了证据。
