Presentation by Dr. Agnes Quisumbing at the WEAI Stakeholder Convening, held at the International Food Policy Research Institute on May 27th, 2015

1. Building a project WEAI
GAAP2 for pro-WEAI

2. From 2012-2015
 Along with the roll-out of WEAI to Feed the Future countries, there has
also been take up and adaptation by projects for their own use (as of now,
there have been 20 documented adaptations of the WEAI by CARE, ILRI,
IFAD…)
 Adaptations undertaken to better meet projects’ objectives (topical
focus) as well as budgets (often, more limited resources)
 But comparability of WEAI across projects is difficult, if not impossible
 Cannot judge what approach works best in empowering women if we do
not have common metrics!

3. What projects want from WEAI--1
 More streamlined, easier to collect indicators, that can be part of
regular M&E
 Better adaptability to their own project contexts, specifics of their
own interventions
 Better understanding of the qualitative aspects of empowerment (how
and why?)
 In some cases, modules related to mobility, gender-based violence,
reproductive health, self-confidence, political participation (CARE),
ownership of an identity card (ILRI), shocks/resilience (FAO/IFAD),
agricultural extension (iDE/IWMI), etc.

4. What projects want from WEAI--2
 In some cases, greater emphasis on autonomy in different spheres
(control over income or participation in labor force, not necessarily
agricultural decisions)
 More detail on some areas (livestock), less detail in others (crops)
 Applicability outside agriculture
 Ability to tackle dimensions of empowerment that relate to health
and nutrition outcomes
How to achieve this, but still have comparability?
How to know what strategy works best, if metrics are
different?

5. Fortunately, we have experience from the Gender,
Agriculture, and Assets Project (GAAP)!

6. GAAP2 for pro-WEAI
 A second phase of the Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project (GAAP)
has been approved by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation!
 Builds on approach of GAAP1:
 Portfolio of projects, in South Asia and Africa
 Work with agricultural development projects to develop a WEAI for
project use (pro-WEAI)
 Projects will be invited to submit applications for participation in a
portfolio depending on: (1) commodity focus (crop or
livestock/dairy) and (2) objective (value chain/income or
health/nutrition)
 Portfolio approach will aim to develop comparable metrics for
empowerment, across different types of commodities/project
objectives

7. Two “frontier” areas to be discussed in
plenary
 What does measurement of autonomy mean, and how can it be
relevant for projects?—Sabina Alkire
 What dimensions of empowerment matter for health and nutrition
outcomes?—Jessica Heckert

8. Small-group discussions on adaptations
for project and other uses of WEAI
 Session A: Let’s talk about Autonomy
 Session B: Women’s empowerment, health, and nutrition
 Session C: Women’s empowerment in crop and horticulture projects
 Session D: Women’s empowerment in livestock projects
 Session E: Implications for Large-scale surveys

9. Guide questions for autonomy working
group
 1. How can the WEAI better capture AUTONOMY in the context of a specific
projects? Please describe any additional domains that you deem essential.
What type of indicators would be needed for an additional domain?
 What indicators are essential to determining changes in women’s economic
and social status as a result of a specific project?
 Please determine any context/ project-specific information that will be
critical to the tabulation of your proposed indicators. Describe why the
additional information is needed to measure changes in women’s status.
 Please describe any additional indicators that you deem essential to
measuring changes in women’s status.

10. Guide questions for health & nutrition/value
chain/livestock projects or large-scale
surveys
 2. Which indicators will be essential to include in a modified WEAI for
[HEALTH AND NUTRITION/VALUE CHAIN/LIVESTOCK projects or LARGE-
SCALE SURVEYS]? Why do you believe they are essential to determining
changes in women’s economic and social status in this type of project/survey?
Please describe any additional indicators that you deem essential.
 Please determine any context/project-specific information that will be
critical to the tabulation of your proposed indicators. Describe why the
additional information is needed to measure changes in women’s status in
this type of project/survey.
 Please describe any additional indicators that you deem essential to
measuring changes in women’s status as in this type of project/survey.