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Assessing women's empowerment: towards a conceptual framework

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  • Sarah Mosedale

    (Institute for Development Policy and Management, Manchester University, Manchester, UK)

Abstract

When policymakers and practitioners decide that 'empowerment'-usually of women or the poor-is a development goal what do they mean? And how do they determine the extent to which it has been achieved? Despite empowerment having become a widely used term in this context there is no accepted method for measuring and tracking changes. Presumably if we want to see people empowered we consider them to be currently dis-empowered i.e. disadvantaged by the way power relations presently shape their choices, opportunities and well-being. If this is what we mean then we would benefit from being better informed about the debates which have shaped and refined the concept of power and its operation. Therefore in this paper, after briefly reviewing how the empowerment of women has been discussed within development studies, I look at how the concept of power was debated and refined during the second half of the twentieth century and discuss how power relations might be described and evaluated in a particular context. I then propose a conceptual framework within which empowerment might be assessed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Mosedale, 2005. "Assessing women's empowerment: towards a conceptual framework," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(2), pages 243-257.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:17:y:2005:i:2:p:243-257
    DOI: 10.1002/jid.1212
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bina Agarwal, 1997. "''Bargaining'' and Gender Relations: Within and Beyond the Household," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1-51.
    2. Naila Kabeer, 1999. "Resources, Agency, Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of Women's Empowerment," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 30(3), pages 435-464, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Helen M. Haugh & Alka Talwar, 2016. "Linking Social Entrepreneurship and Social Change: The Mediating Role of Empowerment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(4), pages 643-658, February.
    2. Muhammad Abrar-ul-haq & Mohd Razani Mohd Jali & Gazi Md Nural Islam, 2017. "Empowering rural women in Pakistan: empirical evidence from Southern Punjab," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 1777-1787, July.
    3. Yasmin, Nazia & Grundmann, Philipp, 2020. "Home-cooked energy transitions: Women empowerment and biogas-based cooking technology in Pakistan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    4. Ly Phan, 2016. "Measuring Women’s Empowerment at Household Level Using DHS Data of Four Southeast Asian Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 126(1), pages 359-378, March.
    5. Anderson, C. Leigh & Reynolds, Travis W. & Gugerty, Mary Kay, 2017. "Husband and Wife Perspectives on Farm Household Decision-making Authority and Evidence on Intra-household Accord in Rural Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 169-183.
    6. Ragui Assaad & Hanan Nazier & Rasha Ramadan, 2015. "Empowerment is a Community Affair: Community Level Determinants of Married Women's Empowerment in Egypt," Working Papers 959, Economic Research Forum, revised Oct 2015.
    7. Zhu, Yu-Qian & Alamsyah, Nurwahyu, 2022. "Citizen empowerment and satisfaction with smart city app: Findings from Jakarta," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    8. Sarah Deschênes & Rozenn Hotte, 2019. "Assessing the Effects of an Education Policy on Women's Well-being: Evidence from Benin," Working Papers halshs-02179704, HAL.
    9. Ruth Alsop & Mette Bertelsen & Jeremy Holland, 2006. "Empowerment in Practice : From Analysis to Implementation," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6980, December.
    10. Tanya Jakimow, 2007. "The Rationale of Self-help in Development Interventions," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 2(1), pages 107-124, January.
    11. Humphries, Sally & Classen, Lauren & Jiménez, José & Sierra, Fredy & Gallardo, Omar & Gómez, Marvin, 2012. "Opening Cracks for the Transgression of Social Boundaries: An Evaluation of the Gender Impacts of Farmer Research Teams in Honduras," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(10), pages 2078-2095.
    12. Arab Naz & Waseem Khan & Mamoon Khan Khattak & Umar Daraz & Irum Mughal & Muhammad Asghar Khan, 2013. "State of Women’s Empowerment and Community Perception in Rural Pakistan (A Case Study of Malakand Division)," Asian Journal of Empirical Research, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 3(3), pages 351-362, March.
    13. Anderson, C. Leigh & Reynolds, Travis William & Gugerty, Mary Kay, 2012. "Spousal Accord and the Costs of Household Decision-making in Tanzania and Mali," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 125018, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Cristina Elisa Orso & Enrico Fabrizi, 2013. "Microcredit and women's empowerment in Bangladesh: a structural equation model for categorical observed variables," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali dises1396, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    15. Taşli, Kaan, 2007. "A conceptual framework for gender and development studies: From welfare to empowerment," ÖFSE-Forum, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE), volume 32, number 32.
    16. Becker, Stan & Fonseca-Becker, Fannie & Schenck-Yglesias, Catherine, 2006. "Husbands' and wives' reports of women's decision-making power in Western Guatemala and their effects on preventive health behaviors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(9), pages 2313-2326, May.
    17. Ragui Assaad & Hanan Nazier & Racha Ramadan, 2014. "Individual and Households Determinants of Women Empowerment: Application to the Case of Egypt," Working Papers 867, Economic Research Forum, revised Nov 2014.
    18. Kausar Yasmeen & Mohd Zaini Abd Karim, 2014. "Impact of Interaction Term between Education and Loan Size on Women’s Decision Making," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation, Macrothink Institute, Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation, vol. 1(1), pages 123-141, June.
    19. Cherise Addinsall & Norah Rihai & Brenda Andre & Eva Addinsall & Mia Dunphy & Brooke Van der Wildenberg & Anjali Nelson & Tasha Weir, 2023. "Applying an intersectional lens to addressing gender disparities and disadvantage in rural Melanesian agriculture," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 1574-1594, October.
    20. Robin A. Richardson, 2018. "Measuring Women’s Empowerment: A Critical Review of Current Practices and Recommendations for Researchers," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(2), pages 539-557, June.
    21. Nusrat Fatema, 2019. "Women Empowerment or Gender Equality: Which One Should Come First for Augmenting Satisfaction and Performance of Female Employees: A study on the Ready-made Garment Sector of Bangladesh," International Journal of Business and Social Research, LAR Center Press, vol. 9(1), pages 08-21, January.
    22. Weber, Olaf & Ahmad, Adnan, 2014. "Empowerment Through Microfinance: The Relation Between Loan Cycle and Level of Empowerment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 75-87.
    23. Arbolino, Roberta & Carlucci, Fabio & Cirà, Andrea & Yigitcanlar, Tan & Ioppolo, Giuseppe, 2018. "Mitigating regional disparities through microfinancing: An analysis of microcredit as a sustainability tool for territorial development in Italy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 281-288.
    24. Saleemi, Sundus & Kofol, Chiara, 2022. "Women’s participation in household decisions and gender equality in children’s education: Evidence from rural households in Pakistan," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).
    25. Soiliou Namoro & Rania Rousdhy, 2007. "Intrahousehold Resource Allocation in Egypt: Effect of Power Distribution within the Household on Child Work and Schooling," Working Paper 331, Department of Economics, University of Pittsburgh, revised Dec 2007.

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