Women's empowerment in agriculture and its impact on nutritional outcomes in Ethiopia was examined. Survey data from over 7,000 households across 5 regions was used to calculate the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) for each respondent. The average WEAI score for Ethiopian women was 0.67, lower than some other countries. Leadership and time domains contributed most to disempowerment. Regression analysis found higher WEAI scores, more group memberships, more decision-making power over credit and income, more autonomy in production, and less workload were associated with greater dietary diversity for children and women.

1. Feiruz Yimer and Fanaye Tadesse
IFPRI-ESSP
June 15, 2015
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture and Nutritional
Outcomes in Ethiopia

2. Introduction
• Intra-household resource allocation has a considerable role to play in
nutritional outcomes.
• The extent to which women control resources largely determines the kind
of care they provide for their children.
• Lack of control over household resources, time, knowledge, and social
support networks -> poor nutritional outcomes.
• Empirical research mostly shows that greater control by women in
household has an impact on the nutritional and educational outcomes of
children

3. Objective of our research
• Look into the impact of women’s empowerment on dietary diversity of children
and women.
• Complex linkages; direction of relationship between women’s status and
nutrition not straight forward.
• Women’s empowerment through engaging in agriculture or other paid work
 could reduce the amount of time available for them to take care of themselves as well as their
children.
 Positive income effect
• Measuring women’s empowerment not easy. Use new measure of women
empowerment called Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI).

4. Data
• Data from a baseline survey conducted for the evaluation of the FtF
program in Ethiopia, the US government global hunger and food security
initiative (USAID)
• Collected by CSA in collaboration with IFPRI in June 2013.
• The data is collected
o5 regions (Tigray, Amhara, Oromiya, Somalia and SNNP)
o84 woredas (districts)
o 7,056 households

5. Methodology - Women's Empowerment in Agriculture
Index (WEAI)
• Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI)
• Developed by researchers at USAID, IFPRI, and the Oxford Poverty and
Human Development Initiative (OPHI)
• Composed of two sub-indexes: the Five Domains of Empowerment sub-
index (5DE) and the Gender Parity sub-Index (GPI)
Five Domains of Empowerment sub-index (5DE) measures the empowerment of women in
five areas (90 percent of the total WEAI); and
The Gender Parity Index (GPI) measures the empowerment gap of men and women within
the household(10 percent of the total WEAI)

6. Methodology (Cont.) WEAI Components
• The five domains, their definitions under the WEAI, the corresponding
indicators, and their weights for the 5DE are:

7. Descriptive of WEAI
• How empowered are Ethiopian women in Agriculture?
• The female respondent’s individual-level 5DE profile or score (weighted
average of the 10 indicators)
• The average 5DE score is 0.67
 A lower level of empowerment in agriculture for Ethiopian women compared
with women in Bangladesh (0.75), Uganda (0.79) and Guatemala (0.69).
 and better compared to Nepal (0.59)
• The findings from the WEAI diagnostics are used to identify the focus of
analysis.
• Contribution of each of the five domains to disempowerment
 Leadership, Time, Resources, Production and Income

8. Results - Contribution of each of the 5 domains to
disempowerment of women
Production
11%
Resources
25%
Income
7%
Leadership
30%
Time
27%

9. Result- Contribution of each of the 10 domain indicators
to disempowerment of women
Input in
productive
decisions
3%
Autonomy in
production
8%
Ownership of
assets
5%
Purchase, sale
or transfer of
assets
5%
Access to and
decisions on
credit
15%
Control over use
of income
7%
Group
membership
15%
Speaking in
public
15%
Workload
13%
Leisure
14%
Production-Autonomy in production
Resource- Decision on credit
Income- Control over use of income
Leadership- Group membership
Time- Workload

10. Regression
• Follows the works by IFPRI colleagues (Sraboni et al, 2014 in
Bangladesh and Malapit et al, 2013 on Nepal)
• Estimated six models using the six empowerment variables
• Outcome variables- dietary diversity of children
- dietary diversity of women
• Controlled for household and community level characteristics

11. Result: Regression on children dietary diversity
Model I Model II Model III Model IV Model V Model VI
Five domains of empowerment 0.889***
No. of group membership 0.153***
Decision on credit 0.088**
Decision on income 0.076***
Autonomy in production 0.084***
Workload 0.0003***
Production diversity 0.156*** 0.164*** 0.176*** 0.160*** 0.160*** 0.174***
*, ** and *** stands for 10%, 5% and 1% level of significance, respectively.

12. Result: Regression on Women’s nutritional outcome`
Model I Model II Model III Model IV Model V Model VI
Five domains of
empowerment 1.133***
No. of group membership 0.153***
Decision on credit 0.148***
Decision on income 0.068***
Autonomy in production 0.076***
Workload 0.001***
Production diversity 0.161*** 0.161*** 0.172*** 0.165*** 0.164*** 0.175***
*, ** and *** stands for 10%, 5% and 1% level of significance, respectively.

13. Result-Additional variables
• Children of under age 2 have better dietary diversity
• Household size - negative effect on the nutritional outcome of
children.
• Wealth - positive and significant effect on the dietary diversity of
children except in regressions of 5DE and decision on income use
being insignificant
• Wealth-same effect on the women dietary diversity though it is
insignificant in regressions of 5DE and decisions on credit

14. Conclusion
• Women’s empowerment has a positive impact on children’s Dietary Diversity as
well as women’s Dietary Diversity
• Having say on credit decisions has implication on dietary diversity of both
children and women
• Our study confirms finding from other countries:
 Nepal (Malpit et. al, 2013): Autonomy in production dietary diversity of both women
and children
Bangladesh (Sraboni et. al, 2013): Over all women empowerment score, number of
groups in which a women is an active member and women’s control over asset 
household dietary diversity
Ghana (Malapit et. al, 2013): 5DE infant and young child feeding
role in credit decisions  women’s dietary diversity