Understanding and measuring womens economic ... - ICRW

6Understanding and Measuring Women’s Economic EmpowermentIV. Measuring Women’sEconomic EmpowermentAs illustrated in Figure 2, women’s economicempowerment has many dimensions and isspecific to the context under consideration.Projects address economic empowermentthrough different pathways. The indicatorssuitable for one area or program may notbe relevant elsewhere. No universal set ofindictors is appropriate for every project, inevery sector and in every context.110613 ICRW Folder graphics B G Y:11-0 10/7/11 9:06 AM Page 3Rather, measurement should align with the“slice” of women’s economic empowermentthat a particular program choosesto address. For evaluation purposes, aproject should measure only what itwill reasonably change. While effectivelymeasuring women’s economic empowermentrequires considering indicators of both women’seconomic advancement and women’spower and agency, many projects do not seekto achieve change in both areas. This meansthat individual projects may focus measurementmore on one component than the otheror may not measure both components.Figure 3 presents a matrix for measuringwomen’s economic empowerment, whichuses sample indicators to show differentstages at which results can be measured.These stages range from project outputsand immediate outcomes to intermediateand longer term impacts. Determiningwhich stage to measure depends on whatis feasible to measure given the project’sresources, expected impact and timeframe.As the matrix shows, agency/power andeconomic advancement can be measuredseparately. Both quantitative and qualitativemethods are appropriate for measurement,depending on what type of information isneeded and feasible to collect.The framework emphasizes the importanceof not focusing exclusively on impact indicatorsin developing monitoring and evaluation(M&E) plans. It is equally important to prioritizethe measurement of process, output andoutcome indicators, such as women’s participationin the project and which womenparticipated. All projects should measurebasic process outputs and outcomes.These indicators can provide initial assessmentsof whether a project is on the righttrack and whether it is engaging women asintended. They are usually more straightforwardto measure than indicators of deeperor longer-term impact. Not all indicators canor should be measured at the highest level.Often, it is not realistic to expect to beable to measure the deepest, long-termimpact within the project’s time frame.POWER AND AGENCYOUTPUTOUTCOMEOUTCOMEIMPACTIMPACTWomen'sparticipation inactivitiesIncreased selfefficacy,abilityto makedecisionsIncreasedbargainingpowerIncreasedcontrol ofhouseholdresourcesIncreasedfinancialindependenceWomen'sparticipation inactivitiesNew skills,changes inbusinesspracticeAccess to newmarketsIncreasedprofitImprovedlivelihoodOUTPUTOUTCOMEOUTCOMEIMPACTIMPACTECONOMIC ADVANCEMENTFigure 3: A Framework to Measure Women’s Economic Empowerment