Influence of Women's Empowerment on Food Security: Case of Households in Burkina Faso

ABSTRACT Achieving a satisfactory level of food and nutritional security remains a major challenge in Burkinabe households, where the majority are farming households and women are more involved in the food production and consumption process than men. However, despite the crucial role played by women in the food system in these households, the level of women's empowerment remains lower than that of men in most of these households. This research aims to analyze the effect of women's empowerment on the food security of households. To achieve this objective, the extended ordered probit model with endogenous treatment is applied to survey data from the Burkina Faso Demographic and Health Survey. The results indicate that women's empowerment has a positive effect on the level of household food security in the sample. The food insecurity score and hunger index of households with empowered women declined due to this empowerment. Knowledge of the contribution of this empowerment to improving household food conditions may lead to the development of strategies and public policies aimed at improving the living conditions of households.