Measuring Progress Toward EmpowermentWomen’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index: Baseline Report
Chiara Kovarik, Senior Research Assistant, IFPRI
Gender and Agriculture: A Focus on Bangladesh
June 18, 2014
Overview
• How the WEAI is constructed
• WEAI cross country results
• Examine major constraints to empowerment
• Compare the WEAI and selected indicators: – Factors that might affect empowerment
• Income
• Education
– Outcomes that might result from empowerment• Household hunger score
• Maternal behavior
• Summary
How is the Index constructed?
Five domains of empowerment
(5DE)
A direct measure of women’s empowerment
in 5 dimensions
Gender parity Index (GPI)
Women’s achievement’s relative to the primary male
in hh
Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture
Index(WEAI)
WEAI is made up of two sub indices
All range from zero to one; higher values = greater empowerment
5DE, GPI, and WEAI Scores
Country Region 5DE GPI WEAI Ranking
Bangladesh Asia 0.65 0.80 0.66 Low
Cambodia Asia 0.98 0.99 0.98 High
Nepal Asia 0.79 0.89 0.80 Medium
Tajikistan Asia 0.68 0.79 0.69 Low
Haiti Latin America & Caribbean 0.83 0.94 0.85 High
Honduras Latin America & Caribbean 0.74 0.87 0.75 Medium
Kenya East Africa 0.71 0.81 0.72 Low
Rwanda East Africa 0.90 0.96 0.91 High
Uganda East Africa 0.85 0.92 0.86 High
Ghana West Africa 0.70 0.81 0.71 Low
Liberia West Africa 0.66 0.95 0.69 Low
Malawi Southern Africa 0.83 0.91 0.84 Medium
Zambia Southern Africa 0.79 0.89 0.80 Medium
Women’s Disempowerment scores (1-5DE)
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
Dis
em
po
we
rme
nt
Ind
ex
(1 -
5D
E)
Leisure
Workload
Speaking in public
Group member
Control over use of income
Access to and decisions on credit
Purchase, sale, or transfer of assets
Ownership of assets
Autonomy in production
Input in productive decisions
#1 Constraint: Access to and decisions on credit
0.49
0.05
0.40
0.73
0.39
0.660.63
0.24
0.32
0.60
0.67
0.41
0.53
0.00
0.15
0.30
0.45
0.60
0.75Pro
po
rtio
n o
f w
om
en
no
t e
mp
ow
ere
d a
nd
wh
o
ha
ve in
ad
eq
ua
te a
chie
vem
en
t
#2 Constraint: Workload
0.26
0.04
0.39
0.13
0.270.25
0.42
0.21
0.320.34
0.360.33
0.52
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
Pro
po
rtio
n o
f w
om
en
no
t e
mp
ow
ere
d a
nd
wh
o
ha
ve in
ad
eq
ua
te a
chie
vem
en
t
#3 Constraint: Group membership
0.58
0.03
0.55 0.56
0.350.33
0.27
0.140.17
0.260.27
0.210.23
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6Pro
po
rtio
n o
f w
om
en
no
t e
mp
ow
ere
d a
nd
wh
o
ha
ve in
ad
eq
ua
te a
chie
vem
en
t
Per capita expenditure (US$)
Bangladesh
Cambodia
Ghana
Haiti
Honduras
Kenya
Liberia
Malawi
Nepal
Rwanda
Tajikistan
Uganda
Zambia
0.60
0.65
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
0.90
0.95
1.00
0.75 1.25 1.75 2.25 2.75 3.25 3.75 4.25
WE
AI
Sco
re
per capita expenditure, US$
Education:
highest household achievement
Households with no or primary education
Households with secondary education
Bangladesh
Cambodia
GhanaKenya
Malawi
Nepal
Rwanda
Zambia
0.60
0.65
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
0.90
0.95
1.00
0 10 20 30 40 50
WE
AI
Sco
re
Secondary education as highest level, %
Bangladesh
Cambodia
GhanaKenya
Malawi
Nepal
Rwanda
Zambia
0.60
0.65
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
0.90
0.95
1.00
55 65 75 85 95
WE
AI
Sco
re
None or primary education as highest level, %
Note: Correlation coefficient is significant (excluding Cambodia).
Households with moderate or severe hunger (%)
Bangladesh
Cambodia
Ghana
Haiti
Honduras
Kenya
LiberiaMalawi
Nepal
Rwanda
Tajikistan
UgandaZambia
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
0.60 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00
Pre
vale
nce
of
ho
use
ho
lds
wit
h m
od
era
te o
r se
vere
hu
nge
r, %
WEAI Score
Maternal behavior
Minimum Acceptable Diet
Children 6-23 months receiving MAD
Bangladesh
Cambodia
GhanaUganda
Honduras
Kenya
HaitiNepal
Rwanda
Tajikistan
MalawiZambia
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00
Ch
ild
ren
ach
ievi
ng
min
imu
m a
cce
pta
ble
die
t, %
WEAI Score
Exclusive breastfeeding
Children < 6 months exclusively breastfed
Bangladesh
Cambodia
Ghana
Haiti
Honduras
Kenya
MalawiNepal
Rwanda
Tajikistan
Uganda
Zambia
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00
Pre
vale
nce
of
exc
lusi
ve b
rea
stfe
ed
ing
, %
WEAI Score
Summary
• Greatest constraints: Too little credit, too much work and not enough groups!
• Comparison with men:
– On average women are 2X as disempowered as men
– Women are almost 2X as disempowered as men in their ability to access and make decisions regarding credit, and over 1.5X as disempowered with respect to workload and group membership
– While the magnitude of women’s disempowerment is greater, men are also disempowered in these domains
• Geographic patterns: Specific constraints dominate certain regions
• WEAI and poverty, health and nutrition outcomes:
– The WEAI is most strongly associated with household educational achievement, income, and maternal behavior (prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and children receiving a minimum acceptable diet)
WEAI RESOURCE CENTERhttp://www.ifpri.org/book-9075/ourwork/program/weai-resource-center
Any questions? Contact: Chiara Kovarik: [email protected]