Women’s Empowerment Measurement

November 21, 2013

Laurie Starr, TANGO InternationalElizabeth Kruger, CARE

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Pathways: Women in Agriculture Program

The goal of Pathways is to increase poor women smallholder farmers’ productivity and empowerment in

more equitable agriculture systems at scale.

April 12, 2023

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April 12, 2023

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Pathways Baseline - 2012

  MalawiTanzani

aGhana Mali Bangladesh India Total

 # of households surveyed

763 849 175 785 454 923 3949

# of focus groups 36 36 12 36 40 48 208

• Quantitative household surveys with both women and men• Qualitative research

• Female, male, and mixed focus groups (200 + total)• Participatory tools

• Seasonal calendars • 24-hour time allocation analysis • Decision-making matrices • Venn diagrams

• Key informant interviews (as many as 50 per country)

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Rationale for using WEAI

• Need for tested measurement tool to capture domains that are part of program design

• WEAI closely aligned with program focus, theory of change levers, and indicators of interest

• Learning opportunity to test WEAI across multiple countries and contexts and inform MLE systems

• But…knew it would require some adaptations for use for Pathways program

Domain Indicator Weight

PRODUCTION

(20%)

Input in productive decisions 1/10

RESOURCES

(20%)

Sole or joint ownership of assets 1/15

Decision-making control over assets 1/15

INCOME

(20%)

Control over household income and expenditures

1/5

LEADERSHIP &

COMMUNITY

(20%)

Group participation 1/20

TIME/

AUTONOMY

(20%)

Satisfaction with time available for leisure 1/15

 Total 100%

Domain Indicator Weight

PRODUCTION

(20%)

Input in productive decisions 1/10

Autonomy in production domains 1/10

RESOURCES

(20%)

Sole or joint ownership of assets 1/15

Decision-making control over assets 1/15

Access to and decisions on credit 1/15INCOME

(20%)

Control over household income and expenditures

1/5

LEADERSHIP &

COMMUNITY

(20%)

Group participation 1/20

Speaking in public 1/20

TIME/

AUTONOMY

(20%)

Satisfaction with time available for leisure 1/15

 Total 100%

Domain Indicator Weight

PRODUCTION

(20%)

Input in productive decisions 1/10

Autonomy in production domains 1/10

RESOURCES

(20%)

Sole or joint ownership of assets 1/15

Decision-making control over assets 1/15

Access to and decisions on credit 1/15INCOME

(20%)

Control over household income and expenditures

1/5

LEADERSHIP &

COMMUNITY

(20%)

Group participation 1/20

Speaking in public 1/20

Self-confidence 1/20Political participation 1/20

TIME/

AUTONOMY

(20%)

Satisfaction with time available for leisure 1/15

Mobility 1/15Attitudes that support gender equitable roles in HH

1/15

 Total 100%

Analysis with original thresholds

Extremely high rates of baseline achievement

> 80% of women considered to be empowered> 90% achievement for individual indicators

What does this mean for project focus?

Woman has sole or joint control for at least one type of asset.*

Adjusting indicator thresholds- Malawi

# of asset types* for which women have sole or joint control

____________________________________# of assets types

reported by household

Must be > .75

Result – 93% achieve Result – 62% achieve

Indicator: Sole or joint control over purchase or sale of assets

*except if only poultry or non-mechanized equipment

Original threshold Adjusted threshold

Comparing aggregate index valueDomain Indicator Malawi Tanzania Mali Ghana Bangla

desh India

PRODUCTION

With decision-making input for HH productive decision domains 5 of 5 5 of 5 5 of 5 2 of 5 1 of 5 3 of 5

With autonomy in HH production domains 1 of 5 1 of 5 1 of 5 1 of 5 1 of 5 1 of 5

RESOURCES

With sole or joint ownership of household assets ≥ 75% ≥ 75% ≥ 75% ≥ 50% ≥ 50% ≥ 50%

With sole or joint control over purchase or sale of household assets ≥ 75% ≥ 75% ≥ 75% ≥ 50% ≥ 50% ≥ 80%

With access to and decisions on credit N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

INCOME With control over household income and expenditures in HH decision-making domains ≥ 60% ≥ 60% ≥ 60% ≥ 50% ≥ 60% ≥ 70%

LEADERSHIP & COMMUNITY

Participating in formal and informal groups N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/AConfident speaking about gender and other community issues at the local level 3 of 4 3 of 4 3 of 4 2 of 4 2 of 3 3 of 4

Demonstrating political participation N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Who express self-confidence 5 of 7 5 of 7 5 of 7 5 of 7 -- 5 of 7

AUTONOMY

Satisfied with the amount of time available for leisure activities N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Achieving a mobility score of 16 or greater N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/AExpressing attitudes that support gender equitable roles in family life N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Results- Empowerment Index Score

  MalawiTanzani

aGhana Mali

Bangladesh

India

Empowerment index score

.66 .58 .47 .32 .29 .46

% of women achieving empowerment

(score of .80 or greater)

23.2* 13.1* 1.7* 2.2* 0.0 4.4*

n 763 819 173 776 454 924 *Significantly different between male- and female-headed households within individual countries at p < .05/ India (p < .10) 

Empowerment index score = aggregate value of the weighted average of the 13 indicators

Field and Analysis Lessons

Length of survey –Separate measurement activities?

Field teams – if budget allows, follow IFPRI guidance!

Female/male enumerators & concurrent administration of survey

Measuring joint decision-making –Response codes for “input to productive decisions” may

offer more precise measurement

Standardizing empowerment

Highlighting Country Experience and Expertise

Dr. Pranati Mohanraj, CARE India, presents on measuring women’s empowerment for Pathways at the American Evaluation Association Conference October 17, 2013.

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Reflections and Challenges - India

• Seemingly high achievement of empowerment with index • In reality, it’s not that high and more nuanced

• Gendered rules and norms taken for granted• Women have no or very little leisure “personal” time (<1 hour), in

spite of this“90% of women were satisfied with leisure time

• Women’s internalization of social status of persons of lesser value - questions came as a surprise to women:• Have you ever met with an agricultural extension worker?• Who makes decisions on crops that are grown/household

expenditures? Taking out loans?

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Implications for CARE

1. Multi-dimensional comparisons enable more strategic discussions and planning

2. Data are making gender issues real for staff/partners

3. Contribute to CARE-wide discussions on WE measurement

4. Benchmarks give a common vision

5. Inform program monitoring systems: • Refining decision-making response options not just “jointly” or

“both”• Land access and acquisition

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Challenges on the Road Ahead

1. Value of calculating index score remains unclear

2. Results can lead to highly unanticipated program design and change demands

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Key Takeaways

• Complimentary qualitative inquiry is a must!

• Context-specific thresholds• Benefits outweigh the loss of identical metrics across countries

• Consider critical gaps in domains and methodology