Women empowerment remains an important subject of concern to governments and international organizations across the globe. It has been observed that a higher percentage of women within Africa are disempowered. This study was therefore conducted to assess the key indicators and dimensions of women empowerment in rural Zambia. The data used in the study was gathered from the 2018 Zambian Demographic and Health Survey. Following Alkire-Foster multidimensional poverty methodology, women empowerment was measured by using 11 indicators which were grouped into five dimension; agency, income, leadership, resources and workload/time. Data analysis was done by using descriptive statistics and probit and logit models. The findings revealed that 76.23% of rural women take joint decision on their health with their spouse; and 62.81% take join decision with their spouse on large household purchases. Apart from women in Eastern rural Zambia, majority of the women didn’t justify violence in any form. Additionally, 53.0% of rural women do not own a house and 45.42% can’t read at all while 97.34% rely on charcoal and wood and their cooking fuel.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Methodology
a) Source of Data
b) Measurement of Women Empowerment
i. Women Empowerment
ii. Measurement
iii. Alkire-Foster Methodology
iv. Computation of Women Empowerment Index (WEI)
v. Explanation of the computation of the five domains
a. Agency
b. Income
c. Leadership
d. Resources
e. Time/workload
c) Empirical Model
III. Results and Discussion
a) Descriptive Statistics
b) Estimates for Women Empowerment
i. Relative contribution of dimensions to women disempowerment
c) Women’s disempowerment by region and gender
d) Women empowerment and disempowerment index based on socio-economic characteristics
e) Determinants of women empowerment
IV. Conclusion and Recommendations
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this study is to assess the critical indicators and dimensions of women empowerment in rural Zambia, utilizing data from the 2018 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey to identify drivers of empowerment and disempowerment.
- Multidimensional measurement of women empowerment using the Alkire-Foster methodology.
- Evaluation of five specific domains: Agency, Income, Leadership, Resources, and Time/Workload.
- Statistical analysis of determinants affecting women empowerment through probit and logit models.
- Assessment of empowerment levels across different socio-economic characteristics and geographical regions.
- Formulation of policy recommendations for improving rural women's empowerment, specifically regarding education and household tasks.
Excerpt from the Book
b) Measurement of Women Empowerment
Several authors have given different definitions of women empowerment. These definitions differ in terms of the context in which women empowerment is being used; being it economic, political or socio-cultural. For example, Kabeer (1999) describes women empowerment as a process where those (women) who were denied certain strategic choices are being given the ability to make those strategic decisions. Similarly, Veneklasen and Miller (2002) posits that women empowerment is the process where women’s power to take strategic decision is enhanced. In this study, women empowerment has been contextualized to mean agency and autonomy and it is viewed as a multi-dimensional process.
Realistic and good measurement serves as the bedrock for assessing women empowerment. However, researchers have adopted different measurements especially the scaling which makes comparison difficult (Lombardini, Bowman, & Garwood, 2017; Biswas, 2004). For example, Huis, Hansen, Otten and Lensink (2017) measured women empowerment from three dimensional levels, micro-level, meso-level and macro-level. Lombardini, Bowman, and Garwood, (2017) also adopted three by focusing on individual, relational and environmental levels. Some studies have also adopted four dimensions, economic, socio-cultural, education and health to measure women empowerment (Asaolu et al., 2018; Pratley, 2016; Jennings et al., 2014).
Chapter Summary
I. Introduction: Outlines the global importance of women empowerment and specific challenges faced by women in rural Sub-Saharan Africa and Zambia.
II. Methodology: Details the source of data from the 2018 ZDHS and explains the theoretical framework and computation of the multidimensional Women Empowerment Index (WEI).
III. Results and Discussion: Presents the descriptive findings, disempowerment indices, and the statistical outcomes regarding determinants of empowerment in rural Zambia.
IV. Conclusion and Recommendations: Synthesizes key findings and proposes interventions such as non-formal education and sensitization to improve rural women's status.
Keywords
Women Empowerment, Rural Zambia, Alkire-Foster Methodology, Multidimensional Poverty, Gender Parity, Agency, Income, Leadership, Resources, Time/Workload, Probit Model, Logit Model, Socio-economic Characteristics, Household Decisions, Education.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this research?
The research focuses on assessing the key indicators and dimensions of women empowerment specifically within the rural regions of Zambia.
What are the core domains studied in this work?
The study evaluates empowerment across five core domains: Agency, Income, Leadership, Resources, and Time/Workload.
What is the primary scientific goal?
The primary goal is to apply the multidimensional Alkire-Foster methodology to measure empowerment and identify the determinants that influence whether women are empowered or disempowered.
Which statistical methods are applied?
The researcher uses descriptive statistics for initial data exploration and employs probit and logit regression models to determine the factors influencing women's empowerment.
What does the main content cover?
The main content covers the methodology of indexing empowerment, provides data tables on key indicators across Zambian regions, and discusses how socio-economic factors affect these levels.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Key terms include Women Empowerment, Rural Zambia, Multidimensional Poverty, Gender Parity, Agency, and socio-economic determinants.
Why is "Time/Workload" significant in this specific study?
The results identify Time/Workload as the highest contributor to women's disempowerment in rural Zambia, highlighting the burden of household chores and fuel collection.
How does geography impact the findings?
The study finds that empowerment levels vary significantly by region, noting that women in rural Southern and Copperbelt regions show higher empowerment probabilities compared to others.
- Citation du texte
- Anthony Abaidoo (Auteur), 2022, Women Empowerment in Rural Zambia. Assessment of the Key Indicators and Dimensions, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1327992
