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  • Publication | 2025

Closing the gender gap in global food insecurity: Socioeconomic determinants and economic gains in the aftermath of COVID-19

Global Food and Nutrition Security

Highlights:

  • Women are more food insecure than men, even after controlling for income, employment, education, and other factors.
  • Post-pandemic, food insecurity disproportionately affected women, younger adults, and rural populations.
  • Closing gender gaps in farm productivity and wages could raise global GDP by $1T and reduce food insecurity by 45M people.
  • Reducing gender disparities in employment, education, and income could eliminate 52% of the food insecurity gap.

Abstract:

This study examines the socio-economic determinants of the gender gap in global food insecurity, analyzing data from 792,000 individuals across 137 countries, between 2014 and 2022. The findings reveal that women are consistently more likely than men to experience food insecurity, even after controlling for income, employment, education, and other factors. Moreover women, rural areas and younger adults, particularly those aged 15–24 and 25–34, have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. A macro-level analysis estimates that closing gender gaps in farm productivity and wages in agrifood systems could increase global GDP by nearly USD 1 trillion and reduce food insecurity for around 45 million people. At the micro-level, eliminating gender disparities in education, income, and labour-force participation could close 52 percent of the gender gap in food insecurity, with the remaining gap driven structural inequalities and discriminatory gender norms. These findings underscore the urgent need for gender-responsive policies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 2 on Zero Hunger.