Multidimensional Female Empowerment Metrics
Evaluating women's economic advancement solely through employment status misses key shifts in internal agency and household power dynamics. Comprehensive evaluation requires tracking direct resource ownership, personal confidence, and decision-making roles within the home.
Picture this
Checking whether someone has a job only tells half the story; true independence means seeing if they hold their own bank card, have a say in house rules, and feel confident stepping out the front door. Imagine owning a car versus having the keys, driver's license, and full choice over where to drive.
What the evidence says
Primary evaluation tracking financial inclusion indicators, self-confidence scores, and intra-household decision authority relative to control groups is actively underway with results forthcoming.
- Who
- N = 1,000 female technical college graduates in urban Delhi and Maharashtra, India.
- How
- RCT survey framework collecting data on personal bank account ownership, self-confidence, participation in family decision-making, and spouses' views on gender roles across three survey rounds.
What to do
Incorporate individual bank account ownership and intra-household decision-making metrics into all labor market intervention impact evaluations.
From the source
"For women, the surveys will also measure empowerment outcomes, such as whether they have a bank account in their name, their confidence, their role in household decision-making, and their spouses' views on gender roles at home and in the workplace."
Strengthening_Employment_and_Family_Planning_through_STEM_Career.pdf