Gender norms, women’s empowerment and economic resilience to climate change in small-scale poultry enterprises in Nigeria and Tanzania

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Introduction The poultry sub-sector is important for rural livelihoods in both Nigeria and Tanzania, providing income, food, and livelihood opportunities for small-scale producers. However, climate change is creating increasing challenges for small-scale poultry farmers and threatening the sector’s capacity to support livelihoods. At the same time, poultry enterprises hold significant potential for strengthening women’s empowerment and economic resilience. This potential is shaped by gender norms, understood as socially accepted and expected behaviours for women and men within a given group or society. These norms are likely to influence women’s engagement in poultry entrepreneurship and, consequently, their opportunities for empowerment and resilience. Methods This qualitative study explores how gender norms shape women’s empowerment and economic resilience to climate change in poultry enterprises. Data were collected through two stakeholder workshops which guided the selection of study sites and actors that would provide valuable information during the surveys. Twelve Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) comprising six with men and six with women, fifteen Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) comprising eight with men and seven with women, and twenty-one Individual Interviews (IDIs) comprising twelve with men and nine with women were conducted. Participants were purposively selected from Muleba district in Tanzania and Oyo State in Nigeria. The data were analysed thematically using a deductive–inductive approach: deductive coding was guided by the study’s research questions, while inductive coding was used to identify additional insights emerging from the data. Results and discussion The findings show that gender norms assign men authority as primary decision-makers, breadwinners, resource owners and controllers, including over women’s resources, and household guardians. Women, by contrast, are positioned primarily as homemakers and caregivers. These interconnected norms constrain women’s ability to participate in, control, and benefit from poultry entrepreneurship, thereby limiting the potential of poultry enterprises to strengthen women’s empowerment and economic resilience. Interventions should work with target communities to foster more equitable gender norms and support women’s meaningful participation in poultry agripreneurship. These norms should be addressed both before and after climate shocks so that poultry enterprises can provide a stronger enabling environment for women’s empowerment and economic resilience.

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