This document summarizes the results of a comparative study on the gender asset gap across Ecuador, Ghana, and India. It finds that women own a smaller share of total household assets and wealth. For most assets, the gender wealth gap, measured as the percentage of total wealth owned by women, exceeds the gender asset gap, measured as the percentage of female asset owners. Business ownership shows the largest disparities, with women comprising a much smaller share of business owners than their share of total business wealth. Addressing these gaps could help reduce asset poverty and household vulnerability.

1. IN HER NAME
The Gender Asset Project:
Comparative Results
Carmen Diana Deere
Workshop on Gender and Assets
International Food Policy Research Institute
Washington, D.C.
October 13, 2011

2. IN HER NAME:
The Gender Asset Project
A three-country comparative study, funded by the
Dutch Foreign Ministry MDG3 Fund
5 co-PI’s:
Ecuador – Carmen Diana Deere, University of
Florida, with FLACSO-Ecuador
Ghana – Abena Oduro, University of Ghana
India – Hema Swaminathan, Indian Institute of
Management, Bangalore
Comparative - Cheryl Doss, Yale University
Caren Grown, American University

3. Measures of the Gender Asset Gap
1. Distribution of assets by form of ownership
2. Incidence of asset ownership
(% of men and women who own)
3. Distribution of asset owners by sex
(% of owners who are male or female)
4. Distribution of households by form of
ownership

4. Distribution of assets by form of
ownership
• Unit of analysis is the asset
• Data is presented by type of asset (dwelling,
agricultural parcels, animal, cell phone, etc.)
• Forms of ownership include individual and joint
• Joint ownership broken down by:
– Couple
– All household members together
– Other household members (a mother & son, etc.; also
includes a household member(s) with non-household
members)

5. Distribution of Principal Residence
by Form of Ownership
•Excludes Bangalore The Gender Asset Gap Project

6. Distribution of Agricultural Parcels
by Form of Ownership
•Excludes Bangalore
** Agricultural land in Ghana does not include family land The Gender Asset Gap Project

7. Distribution of Livestock
by Form of Ownership
•Excludes Bangalore
The Gender Asset Gap Project

8. Distribution of Savings
by Form of Ownership
•Excludes Bangalore
The Gender Asset Gap Project

9. Incidence of Ownership
For each asset:
No. of women who are owners/all women
No. of men who are owners/all men
Gives the percentage of women or men who are
owners either individually or jointly
Data presented is for adults (18 and over)

10. Incidence of ownership –
Principal Residence (adults)
•Excludes Bangalore The Gender Asset Gap Project
Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding

11. Incidence of ownership -
Agricultural Parcels (adults)
•Excludes Bangalore The Gender Asset Gap Project

12. Incidence of ownership -
Businesses (adults)
•Excludes Bangalore The Gender Asset Gap Project

13. Incidence of ownership -
Jewelry (adults)
•Excludes Bangalore The Gender Asset Gap Project

14. Incidence of ownership –
Savings (adults)
•Excludes Bangalore The Gender Asset Gap Project

15. The Gender Wealth Gap

16. Valuing Physical Assets
• Market (or sales) value: For how much could
you sell this asset?
• Replacement cost: How much would it cost to
purchase this same asset today?
• Present value: rental rate x discount rate

17. Wealth Data Presented:
• Market value
• Gross rather than net
(Have not yet analyzed debt)
• Based on responses to Household Inventory
(Have not yet analyzed disagreements among
couples which appear in the individual
questionnaires)
• Weighted
• Truncated (Ecuador & Karnataka, India)

18. COMPARATIVE: Share of Women’s Gross
Physical Wealth
• Ecuador: 52.5%
• Ghana: 30.2%
• Karnataka: 19.0%
IMPLICATIONS:
Marital & inheritance regimes make a
difference!

19. COMPARATIVE: Share of Women’s Wealth
by Quintile
70%
60%
50%
I--Poorest
40%
II
III
30%
IV
V--Richest
20%
10%
0%
Ecuador India Ghana

20. ECUADOR: Distribution of Male and Female Heads
across Total Household Wealth Quintiles
30%
25%
20%
15% Non partnered Male
Non partnered Female
10%
5%
0%
Quintile 1 Quintile 2 Quintile 3 Quintile 4 Quintile 5

21. COMPARATIVE: Composition of
Wealth by Quintile
Ecuador Ghana
100%
Financial Assets
90% Consumer Durables
80%
Business
70%
60% Ag Equipment
50%
Livestock
40%
Other Real Estate
30%
20% Ag Land
10%
Principal Dwelling
0%

22. Comparing the Gender Asset and
Wealth Gaps
Here use the third measure of the Gender Asset
Gap: Distribution of asset owners by sex
(% of owners who are male or female)
Compare to Gender Wealth Gap: Distribution of
asset wealth by sex
(% of gross physical wealth that
corresponds to men or women)

23. COMPARATIVE: Share of Female Homeowners and
Women’s Share of Housing Wealth
54.6% 53.8%
39%
37%
29%
23%
Ecuador India Ghana
Women's share of wealth Proportion of owners who are women

24. COMPARATIVE: Share of Female Parcel Owners and
Women’s Share of Ag Land Wealth
Women's share of wealth Proportion of owners who are women
51%
48%
38%
24%
20%
12%
Ecuador India Ghana

25. COMPARATIVE: Share of Female Business Owners
and Women’s Share of Business Wealth
70%
54%
38%
31%
28%
5%
Ecuador India Ghana
Women's share of wealth Proportion of owners who are women

26. Tentative Conclusions
1. It is possible to collect individual-level wealth
data by sex!
2. Wealth adds a new and important dimension
to the study of gender and social inequality
3. For most assets, the Gender Wealth Gap
exceeds the Gender Asset Gap
4. Across our 3 countries, greatest disparity in
relative shares is with respect to businesses

27. Tentative Conclusions
5. Troubling that highest share of women’s
household wealth concentrated in poorest
quintile
6. Differing composition of wealth by quintile
suggests new avenues for research and policy
interventions to reduce asset poverty and
hence household vulnerability

28. MIND THE GAP!
Thank you….
For the country studies and further information:
http://genderassetgap.iimb.ernet.in