Understanding and measuring womens economic ... - ICRW

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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
Definition, Framework and Indicators5Projects may approach economic empowermentby working either to enhance theresources available to women or to redefinenorms and institutions. Furthermore, projectsmay work toward advancing women economicallyor building women’s power and agency.These different paths to addressing women’seconomic empowerment are illustrated inFigure 2. For example, a microcredit programthat provides loans to women works primarilyto increase women’s economic advancementthrough resources. A literacy or lifeskills program primarily increases women’spersonal resources in order to increase theirpower and agency. While both projects workto increase women’s economic empowerment,they do so along different pathways.110613 ICRW Folder graphics B G Y:11-0 10/5/11 12:09 PM Page 2RESOURCESIn addition, economic empowerment can beaddressed at different levels. For example,projects may work at the individual, householdor organization level, or at the level ofcommunities or social networks.The specific factors that signal progresstoward women’s economic empowermentmay be different in different contexts. Theymay even change over time, as countriesor regions become more developed. Figure2 provides examples of how some projectswould fit within the framework.PROJECT EXAMPLELiteracy Trainingprovides a personalresource that boostswomen’s agency.No single program can address all of thefactors that contribute to women’s economicempowerment. Rather, if economic empowermentis seen as a complex, multilayeredpie, programs should “choose their slice.”That is to say, they should concentrateefforts on where they can make the mostdifference given their resources, timeframe,local conditions, and also consider whatother organizations are doing.Even though most programs take on theirspecific slice of the pie, framing their workwithin a broader framework of economic empowermentis essential. Understanding thewider opportunities and challenges womenface in the specific context of the project isimportant in order to:• Determine where resources are best spentto meet goals;• Design the best intervention;• Identify areas outside of the project focusthat may help or hinder its success; and• Define clearly what the program willand will not change, and where changeoutside of the project is necessary for theproject to succeed.POWER AND AGENCYPROJECT EXAMPLEMicrocreditremoves constraints tofinancial resources thatmay allow women toadvance economically.PROJECT EXAMPLEMarket Based Approacheschange how market actorsand institutions treatwomen and allow for theireconomic advancement.WOMEN’SECONOMICEMPOWERMENTECONOMIC ADVANCEMENTNORMS AND INSTITUTIONSPROJECT EXAMPLECommunity Campaignschange social institutions(norms) that present barriersto women’s agency.Figure 2: Contributors to Women’s Economic Empowerment Addressing Resources, Institutions and Norms
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