Gendered care, just food. Transforming urban food systems in Milan and Barcelona

This thesis analyzes gender differences and dynamics in urban food governance initiatives with the aim of understanding which governance spaces hold most potential for a gender-just transition of urban food systems. Indeed, the transformation of urban food systems is increasingly recognized as relevant to guarantee sustainable global food systems. Also, food systems are characterized by gender disparities in all their phases. Yet, initiatives tackling urban food issues rarely engage explicitly with gender differences. For example, urban food policies are often gender-blind, and gender-disaggregated data is not always available. This thesis provides an overview on literature about urban food systems and their governance, then connects it with literature on gender differences in food systems. It aims at understanding which governance spaces are most promising for the integration of a gender perspective in the transformation of urban food systems. This question is explored through the case studies of Milan and Barcelona, two pioneering cities in the field of food governance, that are differentiated by the fact that Barcelona’s food policy includes a gender equality goal, while Milan’s does not. The fieldwork consisted of 43 interviews with urban food governance practitioners, including institutional representatives of urban administrations, grassroots initiatives in the form of alternative food networks, and experts/researchers. Results reveal strong gender disparities, that intersect other axes such as origin and socioeconomic status. Most disparities regard representation, power, and the feminization of care practices, both collective and private. In terms of promising governance spaces, the relevance of inclusive participatory spaces emerged, as well as the importance of informal relations among actors, and the necessary presence of actors who include gender equality among their priorities. Lastly, results are contextualized in feminist urban theory. Specifically, they are interpreted through a feminist ethics of care lens to unpack gender and power dynamics, and from the point of view of the right to the city, to analyze the impact that participating in urban food governance can have on women’s opportunities in and experience of the urban space.