Autonomy in the WEAI

Sabina Alkire, IFPRI/USAID meeting 27 May 2015

Survey options – background

• The Global MPI uses 39 questions of the 625 in an average DHS. However those 39 questions gather information in addition to that used in the MPI. It takes quite a bit of time.

• OPHI have also made a ‘MPI-lite’ survey for NGOs and institutions that only want to use the survey data to construct an MPI. Changes include: shortened response structure, precise definitions. Cut in time is more than 50%.

• Both have the same indicators, weights, and cutoffs.

How to measure women’s agency

• Increasing women’s voice and agency is widely recognized as a key strategy to reduce gender inequalities and improve development outcomes.

• “New indicators on agency are needed”

Voice and Agency: Empowering Women and Girls for Shared Prosperity. Klugman et al. 2014

• Existing measures are seen to be seriously flawed in terms of comparability, policy relevance, and monitoring.

Decision-making and Autonomy constitute

‘Production’ Domain

5

- In the mid-term review, Autonomy was a ‘top’ contributor to disempowerment in 4 countries (Nepal, Tajikistan, Haiti, Liberia). - Input in productive decisions was the top contributor to disempowerment in 1 country (Liberia).

Malapit et al. (2014) Measuring Progress towards Empowerment. WEAI Baseline Report

6

In the mid-term review, Autonomy contributed more than decision-making to productive

decisions in 5 countries; had roughly equal contributions in 3 countries, and contributed

less in 5 countries. The contribution of Production to WEAI will change, in some

cases dramatically, if Autonomy is dropped and only decision-making used.

Malapit et al. (2014) Measuring Progress towards Empowerment. WEAI Baseline

Report

Decision-making• Furthermore, there are concerns

whether decision-making will change over time, or is a stock variable.

• Inertia and consistency A DHS study across 23 countries of decision making reported: ‘a surprising amount of consistency across countries in the type of decisions in which women participate.’ (Can FtF improve it? Stock/flow)

• Contextual rather than Comparable: The DHS report concluded: “This makes it difficult to treat decisionmaking as a single indicator of empowerment; to treat participation of any type in one decision as being similar to participation of the same type in any other decision; and, for a given decision, to treat participation of one type as equivalent to participation of another type. Thus, if women‘s participation in decisionmaking is to be used as an indicator of empowerment, theory and context must drive the definition of what type of decisionmaking in what type of decisions constitutes empowerment.”

Decision-making• There are concerns about this

indicator: – Do not capture constraints to agency that

might arise outside the household; only reflects intra-hh constraints.

– Not suitable to female headed-households (by definition, all female-household are empowered in decision-making)

– Do not see whether a woman values making all decisions or prefers her partner to do this particular job.

– Women’s and Men’s responses don’t match, raising questions about accuracy. (Seymour) (non-sampling measurement error).

In Sum: concerns for only using decision-making in

WEAI. 1. The Contribution of Production to WEAI

will change considerably in at least 10 countries.

2. Deprivations in Production will be much less visible in over one-third of countries.

3. It is not clear whether decision-making will monitor or show improvements from Feed the Future: it may be a stock variable.

4. Interpretation of decision-making is well-known to require deep contextual nuance.

What about autonomy?

1. There were concerns in the pilot tests regarding autonomy, because it was unfamiliar to enumerators.

2. This led to online resources to support WEAI survey teams, with mixed uptake and success.

3. Cognitive tests of WEAI showed a balance of benefits and issues, and suggested avenues for review.

4. The Vignettes were developed based on experience to date with Autonomy, and consultations with other experts on SDT.

Autonomy• The Vignettes appear to have solved the key issue from cognitive explorations.

• (Material taken from 12 Dec 2014 presentation by Katie Sproule & Chiara Kovarik)• Large discrepancies in percentage of respondents who found the question difficult themselves

versus how difficult they thought others would find it. In Uganda, between 7-14% said they found the questions difficult, versus 29-60% saying they thought others would find the questions difficult. In Bangladesh, very few respondents noted these questions as being difficult to answer but between 29-39% said they thought others would find the question difficult.

• Modification: Better training of enumerators • Results of modification: In Uganda, the rates dropped dramatically for the second round of

cognitive interviews with just one respondent (3.1%) reporting difficulty and only 3.1-12.5% of respondents saying others would have difficulty. In Bangladesh respondents again did not find questions difficult and the number of respondents reporting others would find it difficult dropped.

•

p. 11

Autonomy

• Cognitive testing for both 1.1 autonomy questions and 2.0 vignettes

• Two-part process for asking autonomy questions– 1.1 process implemented by enumerators but not

reflected in questionnaire– 2.0 process is included in questionnaire

• Field teams’ feedback– Took longer to implement (Ban: 16 mins, Uga: 8 mins),

but respondents enjoyed stories (help build rapport?)– Field teams think the vignettes are better understood

than the original, more concrete

p. 12

The RAI: designed to measure change• The Relative Autonomy Index (RAI) is

a measure of motivational autonomy developed by psychologists working in Self-Determination Theory, and is extensively documented.

(Chirkov, Ryan, & Deci, 2011; Ryan and Deci, 2000, 2012).

• The RAI was designed to monitor change, and its ability to do so is widely confirmed

• The RAI is domain-specific, as are measures of women’s empowerment.

Autonomy: part of a huge literature of ‘Self-

Determination Theory’Theoretical and Research ReviewsSDT BooksBasic Psychological NeedsCausality OrientationsDevelopment and ParentingIntrinsic MotivationGoals, Values, and AspirationsInternalization and Self-regulatory StylesMindfulnessMotivation and Self-Determination across CulturesNonconscious Process and PrimingWell-being and Eudaimonia

RelationshipsSelf and Self-EsteemVitality and EnergyBiological and NeuropsychologicalEducationNature and Environmental SustainabilityHealth CareOrganizations and WorkMarketingPsychopathologyPsychotherapy and CounselingPhysical Activity and ExercisePhysical EducationVirtual Environment and Video games

Autonomy and Analysis

Academic studies on autonomy associated with WEAI and available on its website have found interesting and policy-relevant insights. It is hoped that other studies of WEAI light might find other such policy relevant insights.

Bangladesh: Adds new information

• Examines the conceptual validity and reliability of Autonomy and its scale in rural areas, and finds positive results.

• Investigates to if autonomy adds information: – Neither age, education, nor income, are suitable

proxies for autonomy– Women’s autonomy is often related to their

occupation (might Feed the Future may visibly affect autonomy of women farmers?)

– Not the same as decision-making: No robust evidence that the decision-making indicator “feel can make decisions”, empowerment indicator “power to make decisions”, and domain-specific indicator “satisfaction with decisions made” constitute valid proxies for autonomy

– Vaz, Alkire, Quisumbing and Sraboni (2014)

Nepal: Autonomy & Maternal/Child Outcomes

• ‘Women’s autonomy in production and hours worked improve maternal and children’s dietary diversity and height for age.

• ‘The positive and highly significant correlation between women’s autonomy in agricultural production and nearly all maternal and child outcomes is consistent with bargaining models that suggest that individuals who have greater decisionmaking power in the household receive a larger share of the benefits from household resources, including nutritious food.’

• Malapit, Kadiyala, Quisumbing, Cunningham, and Tyagi. 2013 ‘Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture, Production Diversity, and Nutrition: Evidence from Nepal.’ IFPRI Discussion Paper 01313.

Non-WEAI study in Chad• Vaz, Pratley and Alkire (2014)

– Nationally representative data from Chad– Highlights gender disparity: Women on

average are significantly less autonomously motivated across all domains than men.

– Adds information: Neither education nor income are reasonable proxies for women’s motivational autonomy.

– Community effects: Evidence that motivational autonomy at the community-level is associated with likelihood of women’s exclusive breastfeeding.

“What gets measured gets done”

If we keep Autonomy ~1. The Measurement of Production will be

more balanced, less subject to measurement errors in decision-making or autonomy.

2. It is likely that Autonomy indicators will monitor improvements due to Feed the Future interventions.

3. Autonomy will capture the situation of female households, and will reflect structural constraints.

4. National household surveys would then have a new and better measure of women’s empowerment, which can be applied to other domains also.

Thanks!

Autonomy in WEAI (1)

• Domains considered: – Getting inputs for agricultural production– Types of crops to grow for agricultural

production– Taking crops to the market (or not)– Livestock raising

• Autonomy in production: individual is adequate if RAI>1 in AT LEAST ONE of the domains.

Autonomy in WEAI (2)• Vignettes

STORY QUESTION

The types of crops to grow

“[PERSON’S NAME] can’t grow other types of crops here for consumption and sale in market. Beans, sweet potato and maize are the only crops that grow here.”

Are you like this person?

“[PERSON’S NAME] is a farmer and grows beans, sweet potato, and maize because her spouse, or another person or group in her community tells her she must grow these crops. She does what they tell her to do.”

Are you like this person?

“[PERSON’S NAME] grows the crops for agricultural production that her family or community expect. She wants them to approve of her as a good farmer.”

Are you like this person?

“[PERSON’S NAME] chooses the crops that she personally wants to grow for consumption and sale in market and thinks are best for her family and business. She values growing these crops. If she changed her mind, she could act differently.”

Are you like this person?

Autonomy in WEAI (2)

STORY QUESTION

Taking crops to the market

“There is no alternative to how much or how little of her crops [PERSON’S NAME] can take to the market. She is taking the only possible amount.”

Are you like this person?

“[PERSON’S NAME] takes crops to the market because her spouse, or another person or group in her community tell her she must sell them there. She does what they tell her to do.”

Are you like this person?

“[PERSON’S NAME] takes the crops to the market that her family or community expect. She wants them to approve of her as a good business woman.”

Are you like this person?

“[PERSON’S NAME] chooses to take the crops to market that she personally wants to sell there, and thinks is best for her family and business. She values this approach to sales. If she changed her mind, she could act differently.”

Are you like this person?

Autonomy in WEAI (2)

STORY QUESTION

Livestock raising

“[PERSON’S NAME] can’t raise any livestock other than what she has. These are all that’s available.”

Are you like this person?

“[PERSON’S NAME] raises the types of livestock she does because her spouse, or another person or group in her community tell her she must use these breeds. She does what they tell her to do.”

Are you like this person?

“[PERSON’S NAME] buys the kinds of livestock that her family or community expect. She wants them to approve of her as a good livestock raiser.”

Are you like this person?

“[PERSON’S NAME] chooses the types of livestock that she personally wants to raise and thinks are good for her family and business. She values raising these types. If she changed her mind, she could act differently.”

Are you like this person?