Confronting the Wall of Patriarchy: Does Participatory Intrahousehold Decision Making Empower Women in Agricultural Households?

Lecoutere, Els; Wuyts, Eva

doi:10.1080/00220388.2020.1849620

Cited by 23 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…The qualitative synthesis identified a strong theme on the role of cultural norms across contexts. Norms on women's mobility, decision‐making in the household and gendered occupation mitigated the space in which LSCB capacity building could be designed and implemented (Gibbs et al, 2018; Lecoutere & Wuyts, 2021; Halim et al, 2019; Tanner & O'Connor, 2017a, 2017b). When content of LSCB programmes contrasted existing local norms, conflict often followed and closed the space in which the programme could operate.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Confounding was assessed as a risk of bias in one of the studies that did not account for cluster controls and could not reject unobserved bias (Fuller, 2014). Spill‐overs were an issue when participants in comparison areas reported having participated in similar activities than those delivered by the program (Lecoutere & Wuyts, 2021; Fuller, 2014). For other domains, we did not have enough information to justify the absence of bias in at least one study, this was the case for selection bias, outcome measurement and reporting bias.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[…] It came as a surprise that I acquired the power to make decisions over [strategic household] needs. My husband just changed’ (Lecoutere & Wuyts, 2021).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two of our life, social and livelihood skills and capacity building studies used a QED. This included Lecoutere and Wuyts (2021) and Fuller (2014). We assessed both studies as having a high risk of bias.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strengthening women's empowerment and gender equality in fragile contexts towards peaceful and inclusive societies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Lwamba¹,

Shisler²,

Ridlehoover³

et al. 2022

Campbell Systematic Reviews

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Background Across the globe, gender disparities still exist with regard to equitable access to resources, participation in decision‐making processes, and gender and sexual‐based violence. This is particularly true in fragile and conflict‐affected settings, where women and girls are affected by both fragility and conflict in unique ways. While women have been acknowledged as key actors in peace processes and post‐conflict reconstruction (e.g., through the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda) evidence on the effectiveness of gender‐specific and gender‐transformative interventions to improve women's empowerment in fragile and conflict‐affected states and situations (FCAS) remains understudied. Objectives The purpose of this review was to synthesize the body of evidence around gender‐specific and gender‐transformative interventions aimed at improving women's empowerment in fragile and conflict‐affected settings with high levels of gender inequality. We also aimed to identify barriers and facilitators that could affect the effectiveness of these interventions and to provide implications for policy, practice and research designs within the field of transitional aid. Methods We searched for and screened over 100,000 experimental and quasi‐experimental studies focused on FCAS at the individual and community levels. We used standard methodological procedures outlined by the Campbell Collaboration for the data collection and analysis, including quantitative and qualitative analyses, and completed the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) methodology to assess the certainty around each body of evidence. Results We identified 104 impact evaluations (75% randomised controlled trials) assessing the effects of 14 different types of interventions in FCAS. About 28% of included studies were assessed as having a high risk of bias (45% among quasi‐experimental designs). Interventions supporting women's empowerment and gender equality in FCAS produced positive effects on the outcomes related to the primary focus of the intervention. There are no significant negative effects of any included interventions. However, we observe smaller effects on behavioural outcomes further along the causal chain of empowerment. Qualitative syntheses indicated that gender norms and practices are potential barriers to intervention effectiveness, while working with local powers and institutions can facilitate the uptake and legitimacy of interventions. Conclusions We observe gaps of rigorous evidence in certain regions (notably MENA and Latin America) and in interventions specifically targeting women as actors of peacebuilding. Gender norms and practices are important elements to consider in programme design and implementation to maximise potential benefits: focusing on empowerment only might not be enough in the absence of targeting the restrictive gender norms and practices that may undermine intervention effectiveness. Lastly, programme designers and im...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[…] It came as a surprise that I acquired the power to make decisions over [strategic household] needs. My husband just changed’ (Lecoutere & Wuyts, 2021).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Strengthening women's empowerment and gender equality in fragile contexts towards peaceful and inclusive societies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Lwamba¹,

Shisler²,

Ridlehoover³

et al. 2022

Campbell Systematic Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While women's participation in agricultural workshops alone is unlikely to transform entrenched gender norms, integrating deliberate actions to address inequitable gender relations in project design and implementation, show promise (Kantor et al 2015, Cole et al 2020, Lecoutere and Wuyts 2020. For instance, in Uganda a research project employing participatory approaches that aimed to address gender inequalities, resolve conflict, and foster collaboration and negotiation is reported to have achieved substantial gains in strengthening women's rights to forest and tree resources and their inclusion in community forestry decisions (Mukasa et al 2016).…”

Section: Changes In the Wider Social Context Of On-farm Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Onto the Farm, into the Home: How Intrahousehold Gender Dynamics Shape Land Restoration in Eastern Kenya

et al. 2021

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While attention has been paid largely to forest restoration, meeting global land restoration pledges will require scalingup restoration of ecosystem services on agricultural land. This paper contributes to the literature on restoration practice and agricultural technology adoption, by shifting the focus onto the farm and considering the role of intrahousehold dynamics in the uptake of farmland restoration practices. We examine the intrahousehold decisions and gender relations surrounding the trial of two on-farm restoration practices: tree planting and planting basins; with over 2,500 farmers in the eastern drylands of Kenya. Combining results from household surveys, interviews and focus group discussions, our findings reveal that decisions over the uptake of restoration practices, although usually initiated by women who attend agricultural workshops, are often discussed between husband and wife and that multiple social dimensions intersect to shape men's and women's interest in, contribution to, and benefit from different practices. Furthermore, our study demonstrates that these intrahousehold relations are, in turn, shaped by women's participation in innovation processes and broader societal changes, particularly the outmigration of rural men. Based on these insights, we offer recommendations for improving the dissemination and uptake of on-farm restoration practices in eastern Kenya and achieving more inclusive and gender-equitable outcomes.

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Women's empowerment and its role in household food security to achieve SDGs: Empirical evidence from rural Bangladesh

Haque,

Salman,

Hasan

et al. 2024

Sustainable Development

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Women in developing countries are often characterized by lower social status, less input into decision‐making, lack of access to resources, and lower mobility, while their inclusion is vital to achieving household food security. This concept is recognized as important for attaining sustainable development goals (SDGs), including SDG‐5 (gender equality). This study investigated the level of women's empowerment (WE) and its determinants, household food security, and the connections between WE and food security in farming households in Bangladesh. Using primary data collected from 350 households and applying the modified project‐level WE in Agriculture Index, this study found that less than 1% of women were empowered. Poisson regression evidenced that women's years of schooling, household size, farm type, and having household members working away were positively associated with WE, while the farm's distance from home was negatively related. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale revealed that only 18% of households were food secure. Partial least squares structural equation modeling showed that three domains of empowerment—access to decisions on financial services, input in agricultural decisions, and ownership of assets—were negatively associated with household food insecurity, while mobility was positively related. This study shows, a realistic policy is needed to achieve food security through empowering rural women to achieve SDGs in a timely manner.

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Confronting the Wall of Patriarchy: Does Participatory Intrahousehold Decision Making Empower Women in Agricultural Households?

Cited by 23 publications

References 54 publications

Strengthening women's empowerment and gender equality in fragile contexts towards peaceful and inclusive societies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Strengthening women's empowerment and gender equality in fragile contexts towards peaceful and inclusive societies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Onto the Farm, into the Home: How Intrahousehold Gender Dynamics Shape Land Restoration in Eastern Kenya

Women's empowerment and its role in household food security to achieve SDGs: Empirical evidence from rural Bangladesh

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