EMERGE: Evidence-based Measures of Empowerment for Research on Gender Equity

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

KEY LESSONS LEARNED OR INSIGHTS SO FAR

RELATION TO LEARNING CLUSTER

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE LEARNING AGENDA

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Center on Gender Equity and Health, UC San Diego School of Medicine

Anita Raj, PhD; Lotus McDougal, PhD; Jay Silverman, PhD; Prashant Bharadwaj, PhD; Holly Shakya, PhD; Nandita Bhan, ScD; Namratha Rao, MSPH; Amruta Trivedi, MPA; Osika Tripathi, MPH; Emma Jackson, BA

EMERGE is a 3-year initiative funded by BMGF that focuses on supporting thedevelopment and use of robust and rigorous quantitative measures of gender equalityand empowerment (GE/E) for health and development in India. EMERGE seeks toidentify and/or support development of GE/E measures for use in field-based programmonitoring and evaluation as well as those that can be used in the monitoring ofprogress on UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: To Achieve Gender Equalityand Empower All Girls, at the district, state, and national levels. Our project ismotivated by the lack of valid measures for a number of gender equity constructs (e.g.,forced marriage) and inadequate science on many existing measures acrosspopulations and contexts. This gap in strong measures contributes to the lack ofadequate data for 80% of indicators to monitor SDG5 (UN Women, 2016). Asinvestments in GE/E programming and monitoring increase, there is a need forimprovements in both the quality and the recognition of the science of G/E measures.

Through this project, we aim a) to identify and share the best evidence science ofGE/E measures via meetings with experts and stakeholders, review of the literature onGE/E measurement, and development of dissemination activities including a websitewith which to share identified strong GE/E measures and b) to engage and supportmultidisciplinary research focused on development and psychometric testing ofinnovative new GE/E measures, via RFP funding and publication support. This projectbegan in Nov. 2016, and in past 6 months, we have convened learning meetings for thefield, compiled best evidence measures, and implemented a competitive grant makingprocess to support new measures development. Reports are available at geh.ucsd.edu.

We define gender empowermentas a process and an outcome, andour project supports thedevelopment of a measures that canassess women’s empowermentacross a variety of domains. Domainsof focus for this project will include:psychological/cognitive, economic,legal, social participation, political,household and intrafamilial, health,environment and sustainability, andtime poverty/time use. While wefocus on measures that can beassessed at the individual orhousehold levels, we alsorecommend use of multi-levelconstructs and big data to contributeto our understanding of GE/E.

Within the domain of economicempowerment, key interest areasidentified by field experts includedwomen’s financial inclusion (savingsand bank accounts), incomegeneration and mobility, control overproductive assets and how thesemay influence a women’s agency orbargaining power in the household.Weaknesses in the followingstandard measures for women werealso noted: time use, labor forceparticipation, control over assets.

Women in BiharPhoto by Lionel Viroulaud

We are eager to engage with the learningagenda to support development and use ofscientifically valid and reliable GE/E measures.We hope to support consensus building in thefield and subsequent use of identified bestevidence GE/E measures. In particular, we hopethe dialogue with members of the learningcommunity can support the field on how best toconsider the following:• Contextualized vs. harmonized measures• Cost effective and time-efficient vs. lengthy

but more comprehensive measures• Innovative vs. demonstrated measurement

techniquesAdditionally, we hope to learn from WGCDgrantees’ use of best evidence GE/E measures.

Based on efforts to date to identify best evidenceGE/E measures for monitoring and evaluation,inclusive of literature review andmeetings/interviews with key field experts, thefollowing key learning have been identified:1. Good measures exist

While no measure is perfect, there are a number of good GE/E measures (e.g., IPV) that have been validated cross-nationally.

2. Some standard measures are of concernStandard measures of key GE/E concepts, such as decision-making, have produced mixed results or are not easy to interpret at analysis.

3. Gaps in measurement are recognizedMany constructs lack standard measures, such as safety in public spaces and empowerment as a process. Innovations in measurement beyond survey are rare.

4. Capacities for Improvement are strongResearchers are developing GE/E measures.

Ravi Verma, Regional Director of ICRW Asia, speaks at an EMERGE workshop in Delhi. February 2017Photo by Joe Hill/Round Room Image

Katherine Hay, Deputy Director of MLE at BMGF BMGF India, opens the EMERGE workshop in Delhi. February 2017.Photo by Joe Hill/Round Room Image