Time use and food insecurity in female-headed households in Brazil

Abstract

In Brazil, female-headed households disproportionately experience food insecurity. However, empirical and theoretical evidence shows that women are better than men at allocating intra-household resources to achieve well-being. In observation of this paradox, the present work studies the process of poverty feminization, and presents a collective decision model to understand the vulnerability situation of women. Specifically, we aimed to observe how time use and food insecurity correlate. We estimated an ordered probit model with Brazilian National Household Sample Survey data. Our studies found that women manage a double burden of both paid and unpaid jobs. This increases their risk of food insecurity, confirming the importance of time allocation in household well-being. Conversely, this effect is inverted when household tasks are shared with another member, specifically the spouse. Single mother households still face several challenges, which require specific policies and studies.

Medición de la situación de inseguridad alimentaria a nivel del hogar en los municipios de cobertura del Ejercicio Profesional Supervisado de la Escuela de Nutrición de la Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala

“…En la actualidad se observa que, si bien se sigue relacionando mayor INSA con hogares de jefatura femenina, estos hogares cada vez tienen menor diferencia con los hogares de jefatura masculina. Las posibles causas son una adecuada asignación de recursos dentro del hogar, mayor acceso de las mujeres a trabajos informales y ser beneficiadas por distintos programas que buscan promover el desarrollo económico de las mujeres (Silveira Braga & Vieira Costa, 2022).…”

Assessing the effects of gender stereotype in STEM in a Brazilian university

“…Therefore:where μi is the error, F is the cumulative density function of the error and β represents the coefficients to be estimated, so that we can infer the probability of observing a given implicit stereotype measure (as a function of the probability of a given interval of latent implicit stereotype). In this study, as well as in Braga and Costa (2022), we assume that y* can be fitted into a linear regression model, such that y*=xi′β+μi, and the errors are normally distributed. Consequently, the maximum likelihood estimation results in ordered probit parameters.…”

Perceptions of food insecurity and access to programs among elderly females living in Colombo, Brazil: Qualitative investigation

“…Social relations of sex/gender are marked by the gender roles that women have, in our society, in care for the family and household chores, generating overload that is not recognised as a job, but as an obligation. For the women interviewed, such obligations made it difficult to achieve autonomy and financial independence, generating FI situations after the death or divorce of husbands/partners (Braga & Costa, 2022). Braga and Costa (2022) consider that the main causality for FI among female headed households is the disadvantage in terms of time due to imbalanced house tasks between women and men and overloaded work, caused by work and household structure based on gender roles.…”

“…For the women interviewed, such obligations made it difficult to achieve autonomy and financial independence, generating FI situations after the death or divorce of husbands/partners (Braga & Costa, 2022). Braga and Costa (2022) consider that the main causality for FI among female headed households is the disadvantage in terms of time due to imbalanced house tasks between women and men and overloaded work, caused by work and household structure based on gender roles. Single mothers have even more constraints and, consequently, severe levels of FI.…”

“…Vulnerable women, especially those who are responsible for their households, often face difficulties in reaching food security (FS) in developing countries when compared to men, especially in Africa, Latin America, and Caribbean countries (FAO, 2022;Negesse et al, 2020;Braga & Costa, 2022). Studies from India and Nepal, for example, bring other factors that increase FI in this group, such as educational levels, income instability, and the caste system (Sarkar et al, 2020;Pandey & Fusaro, 2020).…”