Gendered vulnerabilities in small scale agricultural households in southern India

Kerala experienced floods during August 2018 which caused loss to both human lives as well as property. The households which were dependent on agriculture for their livelihood were badly affected by this extreme weather event. The female-headed households are likely to be more vulnerable to climate change. Their livelihood is derived chiefly from informal sources like agriculture which are climate-sensitive. Therefore, more intensive research is needed to illuminate the interaction between climate change and gender inequalities. The study attempts to relate the livelihood vulnerability of economically deprived farmers in relation to the gender of the household head of the family. Mala and Vellangallur blocks were selected for the study. In order to calculate the vulnerability, primary and secondary data were combined and then the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) was employed. The results revealed that female-headed households were more vulnerable to extreme weather events when compared to male-headed households. Women showed greater vulnerability than men in all the major components considered in the LVI, i.e., socio-demographic profile, economic status, social networks, health, food, water, extreme weather events.