The gendered impact of drought.

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter focuses on how a major crisis such as drought has impacted on traditional power and gender relations in Australian agricultural production units, and the resultant gendered migration patterns. The chapter draws on a research project conducted in 2003 that investigated the social implications of the drought that has gripped Australia for much of this century. The findings support the notion that gender and power relations are unaffected by extreme conditions but are reshaped along patriarchal lines to incorporate new roles and expectations, including an expectation that women are available to bring in off-farm income to ensure the male partner can remain a 'farmer'. Despite the increased expectations of women, their roles are still secondary and 'enabling' of the efforts of men and are invisible in the agricultural discourse.