Gender gaps in the collection and marketing of an underutilized plant species – Baobab in Malawi

Abstract

Gender equality is viewed as both a means and an end in the achievement of development outcomes. Often, women derive their livelihoods from the collection and marketing of non-timber forest products, but very little is known about gender gaps in these chains. This paper assesses the magnitude and correlates of gender gaps in the collection and marketing of baobab, an underutilized plant species in Malawi, using a primary dataset from 864 baobab collectors. Exogenous switching treatment effect regression and multiple linear regression models were applied in the empirical analysis. We also disaggregate our analysis by the marital status of female baobab managers. Our results show gender gaps in the collection and marketing of baobab are attributable to observed and unobserved characteristics. Female baobab managers' and unmarried female managers' levels of baobab collected and marketed would be higher if they had the same level of observed characteristics as male baobab managers and married female managers, respectively. However, even if that were the case, results still indicate persistent gaps due to unobservable factors. Regression results show that household size, education level, and wealth index negatively correlate with the gender gap.