Investing in Women for a Better World? A Conversation on the Role of Women in Food Security

Key information

Date
Time
5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Venue
Russell Square: College Buildings
Room
Kamran Djam Lecture Theatre

About this event

Conversation between Deborah Johnston, Reader, Department of Economics SOAS and Dr. Sarah Stevano, SOAS University of London

It is taken for granted that there is a clear relationship between women’s participation in paid work and/or cash-earning activities and household well-being, with food outcomes considered to be an important aspect of well-being. Research conducted in northern Mozambique has recently found more challenging results. By focussing on the northernmost Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, the study used an interdisciplinary approach complemented by mixed methods for primary data collection. In this seminar, we will discuss the importance of context-specific evidence for bigger debates. The discussion will be organised around a Q&A session to challenge conventional thinking on these topics.

Deborah Johnston is a reader in development economics, and works on agriculture, food and nutrition.  She is on the advisory committee of the Centre for Food Studies (SOAS) and the Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH).  She is also on the Editorial Team for the Journal of Agrarian Change.  Her recent project work for LCIRAH has involved a report for the UK Foresight project looking at our understanding of the links between agriculture and health, and a mapping exercise of the incorporation of nutrition in agricultural interventions.  She recently sponsored an All Party Parliamentary Group workshop on gender empowerment, nutrition and agriculture, and organised an LCIRAH-sponsored workshop on gender, nutrition and agriculture.  She is presently part of a review (along with Sara) of the literature on the impact of agricultural interventions on gendered time use and nutrition.

Sara Stevano is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Economics at SOAS and a Postdoctoral Research Associate of the SOAS Food Studies Centre. She is currently doing research on agriculture, gender, time use and food consumption as part of an LCIRAH/A4NH-funded research project. Although she has a background in political economy, Sara conducted an interdisciplinary PhD research, using political economy and anthropology, in the Economics Department at SOAS. Her doctoral research was on women’s work, food and household dynamics in northern Mozambique. Due to her research interest in Mozambique, Sara is also a Research Associate of IESE (Instituto de Estudos Sociais e Economicos) in Maputo, Mozambique. Her research interests include labour markets, gender, food and nutrition security, agricultural and food systems with focus on the African continent.

Organiser: Dr Gina Heathcote

Contact email: gh21@soas.ac.uk

Contact Tel: 020 7898 4367