Forty Years after Poverty Reduction in China: The Role of Women’s Empowerment in Enhancing Food Security and Diet Diversity

This study analyzed the role of women’s empowerment in diversifying the diet of households through their own production. Developed from empowerment and food security theories, this study constructed measures from the household dietary diversity score (HDDS) and Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI). The study focused on poverty-stricken regions in China and conducted a thematic questionnaire-based household survey on gender and food consumption in 2021. Based on micro-level evidence from 1199 rural households, this research found a low score of women’s empowerment and an average WEI of 0.689; the status of diet diversity, measured by the HDDS, varied by income and social class; and the average rate was low. Agricultural production diversity and women’s empowerment are positively associated with diet diversity. There is strong evidence that women’s employment mitigates the side effects of decreasing production diversity on households’ diet security. As a result, women’s empowerment can potentially mitigate the adverse consequences of low agricultural diversification in household diet quality in less developed areas. This study provides evidence for repurposing food and agricultural policies toward healthy diets and gender-responsive agrifood systems.