Suchergebnisse

Using data from two culturally distinct locales, Bangladesh and Ghana, we investigate whether men and women who report sole decision making in a particular domain experience stronger (or weaker) feelings of autonomous motivation—measured using the Relative Autonomy Index (RAI)—compared to those who report joint decision making. Used primarily in psychology, the RAI measures the extent to which an individual's actions are intrinsically or extrinsically motivated, where higher scores indicate greater autonomy. On aggregate, we find differences between men and women, and across countries, in the significance of association between the individual's level of participation in decision-making and autonomy. In addition, we find heterogeneity in the strength of this association, depending on the domain (e.g., productive versus personal decisions) and whether partners agree on who normally makes decisions. These findings imply that details related to context and measurement matter for understanding individual decision-making power. We argue that all research using information on decision-making should include a careful analysis of men's and women's perceptions of decision making within the household, which may be useful for calibrating indicators to suit spicific contexts ; ISI; CRP2; IFPRIOA; IFPRI3; Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index; G Cross-cutting gender theme; Capacity Strengthening ; EPTD; PIM ; PR ; 16 pages ; CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

The past decade has seen increased attention to measuring women's empowerment and autonomy, motivated by the goal of identifying promising programs and policies for reducing gender inequalities. One of the most common quantitative indicators of women's empowerment is the self-reported ability to participate in household decision making over important matters. Despite the widespread use of such indicators in the literature, uncertainty exists over how to construct valid indicators of empowerment based on questions about decision making. In particular, it is unclear how indicative joint decision making is of individual decision-making power and to what extent joint decision making reflects a consistent understanding of decision-making power within households. We utilize data from women and men in Bangladesh and Ghana to investigate whether respondents who report sole decision making in a particular domain tend to experience stronger or weaker feelings of autonomous motivation—measured using a Relative Autonomy Index—than those who report joint decision making. We find systematic differences between men and women in the association between feelings of autonomous motivation and decisionmaking outcomes. In addition, results vary by the domain of decision making and by whether or not there is a shared understanding of decision-making power within households. These findings suggest that in order to accurately measure empowerment, further innovation in the specificity as well as the sensitivity of indicators is needed. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; CRP2; G Cross-cutting gender theme ; PIM ; CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

Female orphans are widely cited as being at risk for early marriage, early childbearing, and risky sexual behavior; however, to date no studies have examined these linkages using population‐level data across multiple countries. This study draws from recent Demographic and Health Surveys from ten sub‐Saharan African countries to examine the relationship between orphanhood status and measures of early marriage, early sexual debut, and teen pregnancy among adolescent girls aged 15 to 17. Results indicate that, overall, little association is found between orphanhood and early marriage or teen pregnancy, whereas evidence from seven countries supports associations between orphanhood and early sexual debut. Findings are sensitive to the use of multivariate models, type of orphan, and country setting. Orphanhood status alone may not be a sufficient targeting mechanism for addressing these outcomes in many countries; a broader, multidimensional targeting scheme including orphan type, schooling, and poverty measures would be more robust in identifying and aiding young women at risk.

IFPRI3; ISI; CRP2; Cash Transfer and Intimate Partner Violence Research Collaborative ; PHND; PIM ; PR ; CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

Progressive legislative actions in Uganda and Tanzania have improved women's legal rights to land, however significant gender disparities persist in access, control, inheritance, and ownership of land at the grassroots level. One promising mechanism to improve the implementation of laws is through Community–based Legal Aid (CBLA) programs, which are typically designed as pro–poor to enhance legal empowerment of marginalized groups.A qualitative study of CBLA programs in Uganda and Tanzania was conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to assess the efficacy of CBLA activities, understand challenges faced by CBLA implementing organizations, and document opportunities and potential for scaling–up. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; CAPRi; CRP2; CRP7; USSP ; EPTD; PIM ; CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS); CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)