Workplace Network Expansion for Family Planning Information
Rural women often experience severe social isolation within the home, limiting their access to peer support and information required to navigate family planning and contraceptive choices.
Picture this
Employment functions like opening a local community center where people gather outside their homes. Working alongside peers gives women a safe environment to swap advice, share health experiences, and learn about family planning options from each other.
What the evidence says
Baseline state survey revealed 40% female employment compared to 78% male employment; evaluation measures whether job expansion builds social networks that make family planning accessible and affordable.
- Who
- 9,600 households across 480 Gram Panchayats in Madhya Pradesh, India.
- How
- Clustered RCT evaluating direct public employment access, peer network exposure, and downstream reproductive decisions.
What to do
Design female-focused public employment projects to foster peer networking and informal knowledge sharing on reproductive health.
From the source
"Employment might broaden women's networks-a possible source of information and support for navigating family planning-and resulting earnings might make family planning methods more affordable."
The_Impact_of_Womens_Employment_and_Control_over_Income_on_Family.pdf