Understanding and measuring womens economic ... - ICRW

4 Understanding and Measuring Women’s Economic EmpowermentII. Defining Women’s EconomicEmpowermentDefinition: A woman is economicallyempowered when she has both the abilityto succeed and advance economicallyand the power to make and act oneconomic decisions.• To succeed and advance economically,women need the skills and resources tocompete in markets, as well as fair andequal access to economic institutions.• To have the power and agency tobenefit from economic activities, womenneed to have the ability to make andact on decisions and control resourcesand profits.As Figure 1 illustrates, economic empowermentis comprised of two inter-relatedcomponents: 1) economic advancement and2) power and agency. Both componentsare connected, and both are necessary toachieve better lives for women and theirfamilies. Economic gain and success(economic advancement) promote women’spower and agency. At the same time,when a woman is able to control and sharein resource use (power) and to define andmake choices (agency), she is better able toadvance economically.III. Addressing Women’sEconomic EmpowermentTo achieve women’s economic empowerment,organizations must address theunderlying factors that contribute to it:individual and community resources, andnorms and institutions.Resources are the building blocks womencan draw on to succeed economically orto exercise power and agency. Resourcescan be at the individual or community level.They are more than financial or monetary innature, and include:• Human capital (e.g., education,skills, training)• Financial capital (e.g., loans, savings)• Social capital (e.g., networks, mentors)• Physical capital (e.g., land, machinery)POWER AND AGENCY➤➤definecontrol and shareeconomicNorms and Institutions are the “rules ofthe game” or the organizational and socialsystems that govern activities and mediaterelations between individuals and theirsocial and economic environment. Normsand institutions influence how resources aredistributed and used.• Norms include gender defined roles,taboos, prohibitions and expectationssuch as whether or not it is appropriatefor women to be in public spaces, holdcertain types of jobs, or manage money.• Institutions include legal and policystructures, economic systems, marketstructures, marriage, inheritance andeducation systems.gainresources ➤and make choices ➤ECONOMIC ADVANCEMENTWOMEN’SECONOMICEMPOWERMENTeconomic successAnne Marie Golla/ICRWFigure 1: Women’s Economic Empowerment: Two Necessary, Inter-related Components