Measuring Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture

Draft Thinking from the Pathways Program

What we’ll cover

• USAID’s Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index

• CARE’s Women in Agriculture Framework

• Draft Pathways Program for Measuring Women’s Empowerment

USAID’s Tool

• Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index

• Commissioned by USAID for Feed the Future

• Developed by International Food Policy Research Institute (well-reputed part of the CGIAR system)

• Pilot tested in Bangladesh, Guatemala, & Uganda

USAID’s Tool

• Two Components: – Five Domains of Empowerment (5DE in USAID-speak)

• Decisions about agricultural production• Access to and decision making power over productive

resources• Control over use of income• Leadership in the community,• Time use

– Gender Parity Index - Compares relative empowerment status within a household

CARE’s Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Framework

• Developed as part of the “A Place to Grow,” initiative in 2008 – SII-lite for CARE’s ag portfolio

• Adapts CARE’s Women’s Empowerment Framework to focus on Ag

• Guided analysis of global portfolio as well as in-depth work in Mozambique, Ghana, Uganda

Greater gender equity,

empowerment, and productivity

1. Positive image of women as workers, entrepreneurs, leaders2. Practical knowledge of law and self confidence to claim rights3. Access to and use of information and skills to improve productivity and income4. Financial and market literacy4. Equitable division of labor/time within the HH5. 6. Equitable control over productive assets, income within the HH and farm7. Increased food and nutrition security8. Reproductive health

1. Existence of gender equitable land/property and other natural resource laws. 2. Existence of legal support structures for female claimants3. Equitable access to market opportunities and investment for value creation4. Increased State/local authorities budget allocation to women’s needs to engage in economic growth5. Attention to gender equity by institutional system

1. Ability to organize, lead and influence 2. Freedom to form coalitions and jointly claim rights and hold duty bearers accountable3. Ability to engage male groups as change and support agents4. Change in institutional and individual attitude, behaviors toward women

Agency

Structure

Relations

Measuring Women’s Empowerment Under Pathways

• Measure at HH, Community and Systems Level

• HH Empowerment Measurement: – Modified USAID WEAI o integrate domains around

women’s: Mobility; Financial Inclusion (not just credit); Access to Markets & Services; Knowledge, Skills and Self-Confidence

– Develop system to localize tool based on local perceptions of what matters

• Community-Level Measurement– Modified Community Scorecards and/or other forward

accountability tools to go beyond perceptions of CARE’s efficacy to get to broader perspectives on progress, change and women’s position vis-à-vis men

• Systems-Level Change– Integrate questions in to the baseline of “eco-system”

actors (stakeholders, target group members) on KAP vis-à-vis women and men

– Develop monitoring tool (qualitative) to assess change over time

Measuring Women’s Empowerment Under Pathways

Learn More

• USAID’s WEAI : http://bit.ly/x7NkLw

• CARE’s Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Framework & A Place to Grow: http://bit.ly/Iugad7

• CARE’s Pathways Program: www.carepathwaystoempowerment.org