Food price hikes, food security, and gender equality: assessing the roles and vulnerability of women in households of Bangladesh and Ethiopia

The depth and geographical scope of the impacts of the 2007–2008 food price hikes have received wide attention, and calls have been made for urgent actions to minimise the short- and long-term negative effects on vulnerable groups, including women in farming communities. This article, based on research from farming households in Bangladesh and Ethiopia, confirms that it is gender inequality that makes women more vulnerable to the food price hikes, yet they are resourcefully devising ways to cope with scarcity in availability, access and consumption of food.