Contraception to women’s economic empowerment: A narrative review

The pathway linking contraceptive access and use to women’s economic empowerment is explored in this narrative review. Contraception can have a direct effect on women’s economic empowerment through supporting bodily autonomy, but the main way in which the pathway links is through fertility. Contraception impacts the timing, spacing, and number of births, and these elements of fertility each impact the process of women’s economic empowerment. These pathways are explored with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. With access to contraception, girls and women can plan their reproductive lives and this enables them to plan their education and economic lives. With access to contraception, girls are more likely to complete school and go on to higher-paying jobs and livelihoods. Contraception enables women to plan their birth intervals and manage the joint roles of childrearing and labor force participation. Contraception enables women to realize their desired number of children and make their own choice regarding their time use in work and child-rearing. Investing in adolescents brings the highest long-term gains to women’s economic empowerment. Policies that dismantle gender-discriminating social norms will bolster the positive effects of contraception on women’s economic empowerment. While the context of the evidence reviewed here shaped the interpretation of results and how these successes are adapted to other environs, this narrative review contributes to a growing compendium of evidence that suggests that investing in programs that support women in their access and use of contraception is an effective way to support women in their economic empowerment process.