How gender norms shape opportunities for building resilience to climate change in low- and middle-income countries

Cathy Rozel Farnworth; Anne Rietveld; Rachel Voss; Angela Meentzen

doi:10.5304/jafscd.2026.153.012

Authors

Cathy Rozel Farnworth Bioversity International
Anne M. Rietveld Bioversity International
Rachel C. Voss International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Angela Meentzen International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2026.153.012

Keywords:

resilience, climate change, gender norms, agrifood systems, women's agency, women, analytic framework, gender transformative change

Abstract

This study examines how gender norms shape opportunities for women to build resilience within agrifood systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Amid rising pressures from climate change, population growth, and resource depletion, enhancing resilience among vulnerable populations is critical. In recognition of the gaps in understanding individual-level resilience, particularly related to power and agency, this article presents data from a systematic literature review from 82 articles published between 2016 and 2022. The review analyzes how gender norms and intersectionality influence women’s resilience in LMICs’ agrifood systems and women's placement along absorptive, adaptive, transformative, and inability-to-cope “resilience pathways.”

Findings reveal that gender norms limit women’s agency by restricting decision-making, asset control, voice in community processes, and access to profitable value chain activities. Intersectional factors such as age and disability can compound these constraints. Many women occupy absorptive pathways, meaning they deal reactively to shocks. However, women with greater agency have the potential to develop adaptive or transformative capacities, meaning that they exert a level of control over change processes. Downward movement between pathways can be worsened by factors including interventions, that aim to integrate farmers into agricultural markets, which do not take gender norms and dynamics into account. Collective action, social networks, gender-transformative interventions, and gender-intentional land reforms enable women to climb to higher resilience pathways.

Our study emphasizes the importance of addressing gendered power dynamics and norms to foster inclusive resilience. The study recommends gender-transformative approaches that enhance women’s agency, incorporate intersectionality, and engage men as allies. Our Economic Resilience Pathways framework offers a valuable tool for empirical research and intervention design to support women’s resilience in agrifood systems.