General overview of the literature in TAeK and genderTemporal trends of publications

In our database, the first empirical paper studying TAeK linked to the agri-food system from a gender perspective was published in 1997. The number of scientific publications modestly increased in 2009 (N = 4) and 2012 (N = 5), with the highest peak in 2015 (N = 12) and 2019 (N = 13) (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2

Temporal distribution of the 91 empirical papers (year of publication) analysed, the gendered TAeK topics addressed, and specific international events that could interact with the scientific production

In the 90s, there were very few studies on gender, most of them dealing with women’s issues rather than gender. The publications principally explored how indigenous groups and women’s environmental knowledge could potentially contribute to environmental management (N = 2). During the 2000s, gender was better integrated in the analysis, including studies on gendered knowledge and perceptions of management strategies (N = 6), gendered knowledge acquisition and transmission, also in relation to gender division of  labour (N = 5). From 2010 to present, the topics expanded to include understanding the role of institutions and other societal factors that influence the gendered dimensions of TAeK and its effects, such as the role of gendered participation and formal and informal institutions and networks in sustaining biological diversity (N = 3), or in maintaining and promoting agricultural genetic diversity resources to promote food security and food sovereignty (N = 11), the gendered division of labour in environmental management (N = 20); and the inclusion of a more intersectional approach, i.e. the intersection of gender with other sources of oppression, such as social status or age (N = 9).

Geographical distribution and agroecosystem types

The 91 empirical papers of our database were spread across 37 countries around the globe (Africa N = 35, America N = 13, Europe = 11; Asia = 31; Australia N = 1). Most of the papers were in the Global South (74%, N = 67), mainly India (N = 15), Burkina Faso (N = 6), Ethiopia (N = 6), Brazil (N = 5), and Mexico (N = 5); while only a few were in the Global North (26%, N = 24), especially in Spain (N = 7). Surprisingly, despite the rich endogenous cultures in Canada and the USA, we found no papers analysing gendered TAeK in that area using our search string (see Fig. 3).

Fig. 3

Geographical distribution. Number of papers published by country, and description of agroecosystem by geographical areas; deep black countries have more than 6 papers

Several studies identified specific cultural settings where TAeK is developed. African studies mainly referred to ethnic groups (N = 28), Asian to tribe communities (N = 9) followed by ethnic groups (N = 7), and Latin America studies mainly to Indigenous groups (N = 7). Also, the papers reported minority and marginalized groups, mainly in Asia (N = 9; N = 8) and Africa (N = 3, N = 6). European studies define TAeK as knowledge of rural communities (N = 9).

Concerning the agroecosystems analysed, agroforestry (N = 27) and agricultural system (N = 27) were the most documented.

Agroforestry was mostly documented in West Africa (N = 7), East Africa (N = 6), and South Asia (N = 6). The papers reported information on TAeK related to interactions between tree species, use of wild edible plants (WEPs) and integration of edible plants in traditional agroforestry design [30], and contribution of gathering practices in subsistence agriculture as food supplements [31]. TAeK related to gathering was the main practice described and allocated to women. Both men and women possess TAeK about identification of characteristics of plants (different uses of the different parts of the plant), period of harvesting, culinary, medicinal and ethnoveterinary uses. However, men and women tend to use native plants in different ways and show different degrees of knowledge in relation to age, the space, and geographic zone in which they operate or their gendered role [32, 33]. Yet, considering agricultural activity within agroforestry systems, women’s gathering knowledge was mainly related to subsistence farming and gathering food for family needs [34,35,36,37,38,39], while men were often responsible for gathering constructions and fodder resources in areas far from the household [31, 40].

Agricultural systems (N = 27) were mostly documented in South Asia (N = 6) and West Africa (N = 5). These studies mainly describe homegardens’ practices. Women and men show different forms of TAeK with specific reference to i) the conservation of genetic resources that involves knowledge of seed varieties, selection, preservation, and storage; e.g. in South Asia, women have accumulated immense knowledge of seed collection and seed preservation about a huge variety of vegetables and tubers [41]; in the same area, women of the Bar tribe are the major custodians in the conservation and management of rice seed for food production [42]; ii) cultivation methods, like in South Asia, where selection, conservation, and sowing of rice seeds is considered “men’s domain”, but women have extensive knowledge about rice varieties, seed selection techniques, cultivation methods of different rice seed species and pest control measures [41]; iii) indigenous crops and small-scale farming as an important component of food sovereignty; such as the case of South Africa where women grow indigenous varieties mainly in homegardens, making food available and avoiding grocery purchases [43]; in particular in West Africa, the importance of small-scale vegetable production in the family diet and generating household income is highlighted, e.g. Amaranth species are the most cultivated, as they are consumed during all seasons and used for many dishes in the local kitchens, and women play and important role in their commercialization [44]; iv) irrigation methods, especially in drylands; as in South Asia where in order to adapt to climate change, men have gradually improved their irrigation infrastructure through irrigation canals, reservoirs, and water diversion systems to maintain agricultural production [45, 46].

Pastoral (N = 10) and agropastoral systems (N = 8) from a food system and gender perspective were mainly described in Africa and Europe. In East Africa (N = 6), women play a vital role within the pastoral system, even if they have been referred to as the “hidden hands” in spite of they are primarily responsible for taking care of smaller, younger, and sick animals around the home, and they have TAeK of milking, milk processing and marketing [47]; however, in West Africa men tend to be more knowledgeable about livestock in many traditional societies [48]. In Europe (N = 6), the literature addressed men and women TAeK related to the transformation and food processing of meat (N = 3) and dairy products (N = 3) [49], and one paper described men and women TAeK related to pastoralist practice and transhumance, where very few women are fully involved in transhumance because most of the daughters of transhumance herders migrate or are employed in other activities (N = 1) [50]. In Asia (N = 2), for instance, studies on gender roles in livestock have indicated that feeding, milking, cleaning, caring for the animals, administering medication, are mainly carried out by women [51], and the relation of informal social networks, namely friendship and the practice of migration, in the distribution of knowledge about soils, ethnoveterinary and sheep breeds among male and female shepherds [52].

Forestry (N = 16) was mainly described in Asia (N = 5), Africa (N = 5), and America (N = 4); in South Est Asia (N = 3) papers noted gender-based differentiation in gathering of WEPs [32]; in West Africa (N = 1) men and women’s knowledge uses of fruit tree species [53]. In South America (N = 2), gathering practices within forest showed gendered TAeK related to men and women’s ethnobotanical knowledge and the use and management of plant species for food and medicinal purposes [54], and medicinal knowledge contributions to health sovereignty [55].

Globally, the least addressed ecosystem was internal watershed/freshwater wetlands (N = 2), with one case in each of the geographical areas of South Africa and Europe. In South Africa (N = 1), the paper addressed men and women’s knowledge related to the flood recession farming systems in communities residing along river systems and describes the knowledge about risks of floodings [56]. In the case of Europe, this knowledge is greater among men, probably due to the “masculinization” process that has taken place in rural communities [57].

Approaches to gender and intersectionality adopted

Gender is addressed mainly in the methods (N = 23) operating as a variable of data analysis used as a component that helps in the identification of the knowledge distribution among genders. Gender is presented in the discussion addressing gendered division of labour within the agri-food system activities of production, processing and conservation (N = 65), the distribution of TAeK among women and men in specific society, community and agroecosystem (N = 15), gendered perceptions related to climate change effects (N = 5), gendered perceptions of the natural environment and food resources (N = 3), gendered perception of vulnerability related to climate change factors (N = 1) [47], and also the concept of gendered blind since in the analysis the gender was not a significant cultural attribute for knowledge (N = 1) [36].

The results addressed mainly gender variable distribution and different levels of TAeK between men and women combining other elements such as demographic variables, i.e. age and level of education, and agroecosystem site characteristics, i.e. altitude and climate (N = 21).

A few papers addressed specific gender approaches in the literature, mainly FPE (N = 1) and intersectionality (N = 8). From these perspectives, the intersection of gender, ethnicity, and age has been referred to as elements that can significantly shape the TAeK body in specific ecosystems [48, 58, 59] and have a direct impact on the decline and disappearance of TAeK [60]. In South Africa, the intersection of race and indigenous categories, in addition to gender, deals with the challenging experiences of racialized indigenous women to continue with cultivation practices to achieve food sovereignty [43]. In South Asia it is analysed how development initiatives have failed to integrate and enhance women’s knowledge related to agriculture and improved food security, since the construction and transformation of that TAeK is largely dependent on government and community that are still maintained in patriarchal power structures [41]. Other authors (N = 3) consider how the intersection of gender and class shapes inequalities and negative impact on women’s access, management, and control over resources [26, 41, 61], or on women’s unequal access to knowledge about land rights, resource tenure, and external technologies and practices that emanate from formal institutions [46].

Gendered TAeK in agri-food system activities

This section presents an analysis of gendered access to resources and gendered institutions, as elements that can potentially affect the development, acquisition, permanence, and continuity of TAeK. Subsequently, it shows how the different gendered dimensions of TAeK within the agri-food system activities are addressed, considering geographical context and agroecosystem type.

Gendered access to resources

Articles addressed gendered issues related to the access to land, seeds, and forests as potential barriers to the use of TAeK. Regarding access to land (N = 13), the literature addresses land tenure which is governed by customary laws based on an intergenerational transfer of land in patrilineal societies where all inheritance rights go to the male (N = 4), who also represents the family in its external relations over the use of natural resources in the communities or villages [60, 62, 63]. In other cases (N = 5), women can only access land through secondary channels as their family membership or marriage or otherwise, their control over the resource base is negligible or nil [35, 62, 64, 65]. In West Africa, older male heads allocate individual fields and communal family fields, assigning the largest fields with higher levels of soil fertility to male members [64]. In South Asia, one case described gender differences of maintaining land rights, and gendered exclusion due to lack of access to the social networks and institutions that allocate land resources. Since gender equity is not promoted in the formalization of individual land titles, women consider land titles as unfair because it is often given to men [41].

Gendered tenure regimes have different implications. In forestry systems, it is affecting management strategies, women knowledge, access, and control of forest and trees’ resources in Africa (N = 2) [62, 66], while in Asia (N = 2), the limitation of women in decision-making and participation in forestry results in their limited access to forest resources [41, 51]. The gender division of labour or gender roles that privilege men in the access to land give them more access and control over joint family resources, e.g. land and water, while women are exposed to a double workload of both reproductive responsibilities and on-farm activities, which limits their capacity to generate relationships, create networks, make independent decisions about their resources or gained/acquired knowledge of land allocation process [43, 46, 51, 64, 66, 67].

Although generally seed collection, preservation, and knowledge associated with them are largely the domain of women [41, 43, 68, 69], in South Asia (N = 3) it is described that resource management for agriculture and agrobiodiversity knowledge follows well-defined gender roles that privilege men; even though Kurichya women have extensive knowledge of rice cultivation, they cannot use it for actively cultivating rice on their own, as they have no access to traditional rice seeds and land in the rainy season [41]; in West Africa among the factors that were identified by young and elderly women, access to household granaries was the greatest worry since their husbands denied them access to the household granaries, as crop yields were decreasing due to climate variability [61]; another particular case in West Africa addressed men’s and women’s access to seeds through seed banks; the analysis was done from FPE and found over the years the banks disappeared, the main reason was that women in the Upper West Region of Ghana were systematically marginalized despite they play a key role in agriculture and seed selection[70]. As a traditionally male-dominated society, from their perspective women were not suited to these responsibilities [71].

In the access to domestic granaries (N = 2, in Asia and Africa), strong norms of patriarchy and socially constructed relations of gender and property rights restrict women to take food. Although women help to conserve and produce seeds, men allocate the quantities of grain for daily consumption, and women’s greatest concern was that their husbands would deny them access at times when crop yields decrease in the face of climate variability [41, 61].

Regarding the access to water (N = 2), papers in East Africa and South Asia showed the management of water resources for agriculture follows clear-cut gendered roles that privilege men[46]. Irrigation water is generally decided by men, who influence associations responsible for infrastructure and determine allocation schedules, without considering women’s specific concerns [51].

Gendered institutions

Informal (N = 11) and formal (N = 1) gendered institutions are considered in the literature. The informal networks are considered a crucial element for the continuity and transmission of the knowledge related to agrobiodiversity conservation and biodiversity management where women interact among the community to transmit and continue with the knowledge (N = 5). Another type of informal networks of women is created through socialization within the community and is key elements of supporting women’s activities within the different agroecosystem and, additionally, reproductive work, since these networks allow them to carry out reproductive activities and tasks within a network of support and mutual help (N = 6). A formal institution of women farmers’ group that has been promoted by the World Bank in India is presented, and this is recognized as a development action that aims to promote sustainable development initiatives within the women farmers’ group to generate a positive impact on agrobiodiversity, but they have had little success since patriarchal power structures concern the decision-making processes in the women’s group [41].

Gendered tasks and activities

Aspects such as gendered tasks and activities, gendered knowledge, gendered crops, and gendered space are detailed below (see Fig. 4).

Fig. 4

Number of papers addressing TAeK and gendered dimension in production, conservation, and transformation links in different agroecosystems

Production.

Gendered tasks and activities in production were widely described in agroforestry systems (N = 13). In some literature in South Asia (N = 7) and West Africa (N = 2) tasks and activities include gathering of forest products for food, fuel, fodder, medicine, and small-scale trade, which are generally carried out by women. One paper in South Asia highlights the existence of asymmetrical pressure on women and/or elders, due to women’s roles in managing resources, fuel, water, and medicinal plants, which requires walking increasing distances and leaves less time to care for themselves, their children and to participate in education and village governance [72]. In West Africa men contribute to collect fuel, animal products, and the extraction of structural fibre for construction or sale [73]. Gendered division of labour in agroforestry influences men’s and women’s relationship with local woodlands, where women are mainly involved in collection and transformation processes of non-timber forest products for sale [62].

The gendered tasks and activities that women and men perform in the agricultural part of agroforestry concern land preparation. In one case in South Asia, the chemical spraying and fertilizer application are equal, but women perform the irrigation [51]. In South-East Asia, men are more active than women in land clearing, weeding, cleaning, pruning, and burning considered heavy tasks [74].

In Cropping system (MINUSCULE) in West Africa (N = 5, South Africa (N = 3), and East Asia (N = 2) the gender division of labour in the allocation of activities shows that women not only work as the unpaid family worker in agriculture and other occupations but also hold care-giving responsibilities for children and elderly people. In South Africa the ‘traditional’ Zulu culture, women’s task relates to cultivate, while men work in the cities or tend cattle [43]. In East Asia, women’s task in household and farming, men are also engaged in farming and off-farm work for wages, with a greater decision-making power in the production and domestic area [45].

In homegarden systems, several papers (N = 7) in Africa, Asia, and Europe have noted that women are responsible for vegetable production and (N = 2) additionally highlight that these activities are performed