| Summary |
| Title |
Women’s Empowerment as a Variable in International
Development |
| Author |
Malhotra, A., Schuler, S.R. and Boender, C. |
| Publication Date |
June2002 |
| Publisher |
International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) |
| Summary |
How can development institutions define and measure
women's empowerment? This paper presents a review of current theories
and strategies to foster women's empowerment in the development context.
It evaluates research to date, and points to areas for future study.
The paper defines empowerment in terms both of the individual and
of the collective, as the ability of people to make strategic choices
in areas that affect their lives. Two key factors in the process of
empowerment are identified: control over resources (the conditions
for empowerment) and agency (the ability to formulate choices). Section
one outlines the conceptual framework. Section two discusses how empowerment
can be measured in practice, with an overview of various frameworks
which cover economic, socio-cultural, familial, legal, political and
psychological dimensions. The report argues that in practice, measuring
empowerment depends on the establishment of universal standards (such
as human rights), but at the same time must allow for indicators which
are sensitive to context. Section three provides examples of research
projects and how they have used these frameworks. Recommendations
include: - development of a framework that can be used across settings;
- addressing empowerment at the mezzo (community) as well as at the
level of the macro (legal/political) and micro (family); - measuring
change over time.
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