Household headship, resource ownership and food security: New evidence from Southeast Nigerian cities

Abstract

In cities with deeply entrenched sociocultural/patriarchal norms, female-headed households (FHHs) and male-headed households (MHHs) often have unequal access to economic resources and opportunities, which can lead to gender gaps in food security. Male control of economic resources means that women and FHHs are frequently less able to invest in and achieve food security goals. Using an estimated food security line constructed from a set of household food expenditure data retrieved from the 2018/19 Nigeria Living Standards Survey (to delineate households as food secure and food insecure), as well as a nonlinear Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition model, this study investigates how household headship and resource ownership contribute to gendered food (in)security gaps in Nigerian cities. The study offers two main findings. First, there are significant food security inequalities between MHHs and FHHs. Second, the differences in the level of use of household resources/assets explain 56 % of the observed gendered food security inequalities. In sum, the study suggests that: (i) if FHHs are supported to acquire the same level of economic resources as MHHs, their food security status can improve significantly; and (ii) considering household headship and resource ownership as crucial gender equality issues in food security policies can help advance the wellbeing of FHHs in cities. This study's findings are important for the design of policies promoting equal rights to economic resources and the achievement of food security for both men and women.