IFPRI Policy Seminar: Innovations in Measuring Women's Empowerment

Piloting and Development of the Women‘s Empowerment in Agriculture Index

Purpose• Design, develop, and test an index to measure the greater inclusion of women in agricultural sector growth that has occurred as a result of US Government intervention under the Feed the Future Initiative• What is ―greater inclusion‖? The concept of Inclusive Agricultural Sector Growth is broad and multi- dimensional• Feed the Future defines it as: ―the empowerment of women in their roles and engagement throughout the various areas of the agriculture sector, as it grows, in both quantity and quality‖

Why focus on women?• Women are important in agriculture, account for 43% of the agricultural labor force worldwide (SOFA 2011)• Yet women consistently have less resources than men: land, education, access to extension and credit, inputs--resulting in yield gaps of between 20- 25%• Closing the gap in access to resources could increase agricultural productivity—with benefits for families and the next generation

What is new about the WEAI?• An aggregate index in two parts: – Five domains of empowerment (5DE): assesses whether women are empowered in the 5 domains of empowerment in agriculture – Gender Parity Index (GPI): reflects the percentage of women who are as empowered as the men in their households• It is a survey-based index, not based on aggregate statistics or secondary data, constructed using interviews of the primary male and primary female adults in the same household

Five Domains of Women’sEmpowermentin Agriculture

The reality of the pilot• Tested feasibility in a real-world setting before scale- up• New survey instrument was piloted in 3 countries (Bangladesh, Guatemala, Uganda), with ~350 households/625 individuals each, focusing on the Feed the Future zones of influence• Representative of the zone of influence (not nationally)• An innovation in the measurement and monitoring of women‘s empowerment in agriculture—not the final word on it!

Innovations in survey design and implementation• Index components designed to be applicable across countries and cultures• Men and women from the same household are interviewed• The survey questionnaire modules focus on men‘s and women‘s empowerment in agriculture• The index applies to women in households with male adults--as well as those with only female adults.

Case studiesCase studies consisted ofinterviews on five domains withnarratives to explain answers,describe ―life stories,‖ and getconcepts of empowerment frommen and women themselves “Being empowered, it meansthat the woman can do things too, not just the man” ~ Woman, Guatemala aged 63

Country choiceThree Feed the Future countries in differentregions and different socio-cultural contexts,focused on the zone of influence: • Bangladesh, Guatemala, Uganda • Split roughly 20/80 between single female and dual adult householdsCollaborators: • Data Analysis and Technical Assistance, Ltd. (Bangladesh), • Vox Latina (Guatemala), • Associates Research Uganda Limited (Uganda).

Bangladesh• Southern part of the country – 25 villages from 5 rural districts (Khulna, Madaripur, Barguna, Patuakhali and Jessore) – 18 households randomly selected from each village (14 dual adult; 4 female adult only)• Sample size: 450 households (800 individuals)

Guatemala• Western highlands, large indigenous population – 25 villages from 28 targeted municipalities from 5 departamentos (Quetzaltengo, San Marcos, Huehuetenango, El Quiché and Totonicapán) – 14 households randomly selected from each village (11 dual adult; 3 female adult only)• Sample size: 350 households (626 individuals)

Uganda• Northern, Central, and Eastern – 25 Local Councils in 25 Parishes in 5 preselected rural districts: Kole and Amuru (North), Masaka and Luwero (Central) and Iganga (Eastern) – 14 households randomly selected from each LC (11 dual adult; 3 female adult only)• Sample size: 350 households (625 individuals)

Construction of the Women‘sEmpowerment in Agriculture Index and pilot results

Scope of the WEAI• Focus is strictly on empowerment in agriculture, distinct from: – Economic status – Education – Empowerment in other domainsThis enables clear analysis of external determinates ofempowerment in agriculture.• WEAI is international; Local adaptation possible.

How is the Index constructed? WEAI is made up of two sub indicesFive domains Women’s of Empowerment Gender parityempowerment in Agriculture Index (GPI) (5DE) Index Women‘sA direct measure of (WEAI) achievement‘s women‘s relative to theempowerment in 5 primary male in hh dimensions All range from zero to one; higher values = greater empowerment

A woman’s empowerment score shows her ownachievementsFive domains of empowerment

Who is empowered?A woman who has achieved‗adequacy‘ in 80% or moreof the weighted indicatorsis empowered

5DE Methodology Alkire and Foster 2011. J of Public Economics.• The 5DE is based on the Alkire Foster methodology and reflects: – Incidence of Empowerment - The percentage of women who are empowered – Adequacy among the Disempowered - The weighted share of indicators in which disempowered women enjoy adequate achievements• Based on each woman‘s empowerment profile• Identifies who is empowered• Shows how women are disempowered• Rigorous properties

Gender Parity Index (GPI)Reflects two things:1. The percentage of women who enjoy gender parity. A woman enjoys gender parity if – she is empowered or – if her empowerment score is equal to or greater than the empowerment score of the primary male in her household.2. The empowerment gap - the average percentage shortfall that a woman without parity experiences relative to the male in her household.The GPI adapts the Foster Greer Thorbecke Poverty Gap measure to reflectgender parity.

Formula 5DE = He + HdAe He is the percentage of empowered women Hd is the percentage of disempowered womenA is the average absolute empowerment score among the disempowered GPI = Hp+ HwRp Hp is percentage of women with gender parity Hd is the percentage of women without gender parity R is the women‘s relative parity score compared to men He + Hd = 100% Hp + Hw = 100%

Lilian, UgandaEmpowerment Score = 83%Has achieved parity with her husband Wilson

Lilian is Empowered

Seema, Bangladesh Empowerment Score = 64% She has not achieved parity with her husbandOn average, disempowered women in the Bangladesh pilot have empowerment scores of 61%

Seema is Disempowered

Bangladesh Pilot results• 31.9% of women are empowered• Disempowered women have adequate achievements in 60.7% of domains• 59.8% of women enjoy gender parity Overall, the WEAI• Households without gender parity have a 25.2% empowerment gap score is 0.749 between the woman and man

Bangladesh: How to increase empowerment?

Bangladesh: How to increase empowerment? Contribution of each indicator to disempower- ment of women and men

Guatemala Pilot results• 22.8% of women are empowered• Disempowered women have adequate achievements in 58.3% of domains• 35.8% of women have gender Overall, the WEAI parity score is 0.692• 29.1% empowerment gap

Guatemala: How to increase empowerment?

Uganda Pilot results• 37.3% of women are empowered• Disempowered women have adequate achievements in 64.4% of domains• 54.4% of women have gender Overall, the WEAI parity score is 0.789• 22.4% empowerment gap

Uganda: How to increase empowerment?

Empowerment, wealth and education• Wealth – clear association with empowerment in Uganda, but an imperfect proxy in Bangladesh and Guatemala: – 76% in top three quintiles are disempowered in Guatemala• Education – significant influence in Guatemala and Uganda but insignificant for men and women in Bangladesh: – In Uganda, 35% of women with less than primary schooling are empowered vs. 45% with primary education – 31% of women with less than primary education were empowered in Bangladesh vs. 33% with primary schooling

Relevance for policymaking1) Captures empowerment directly: – Using new data, not proxies – Shows how to empower women in each context2) Three ways to change it: – Empower women – Increase scores among disempowered women – Increase gender parity & reduce gap

IFPRI Policy Seminar: Innovations in Measuring Women's Empowerment

by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

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