Who Makes Decisions at the Household Level? A Study in Indian Context

Having a voice in intra-household decision making can be considered as one of the meaningful dimension of empowerment, since it may be desirable in its own right and also determine how resources are allocated within the household. Decision-making is concerned with bargaining power; women’s ability to make decisions with self-confidence and on her own behalf in shaping her life and possibly affecting that of others in the household. In this context, this paper examines whether educated women gained decision-making power at the household level by working outside the home. The survey was conducted in the Indian city of Kozhikode among 100 married working women aged between 22 to 55 years. The study found that almost all the decisions related to children are collectively undertaken by men and women and almost all educated working women participate in all decision making at home. The most interesting finding of this study is that less than 10 percent of the women reported that husbands dominate in decision making except in four major decisions like large purchases, buying property, house construction and transfer of ownership. But the most disturbing findings of this study is that only a few women have control over economic resources and freedom of mobility even after gaining high social status through education, income, and profession. Besides, 15 percent reported that in-laws have a major say in decisions regarding daily diet, religious beliefs, festival celebrations, selection of gifts to relatives and most importantly on children’s marriage.