Role of men in a women’s empowerment initiative: Evidence from Uganda

Women’s empowerment is a significant element of economic development (Duflo 2012). Because most women in the developing world reside in male-headed households, considering the role of men in advancing women’s empowerment is an important research objective. In this note we report results related to t...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ambler, Kate, Jones, Kelly M., O'Sullivan, Michael
Format: Brief
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145712
Description
Summary:Women’s empowerment is a significant element of economic development (Duflo 2012). Because most women in the developing world reside in male-headed households, considering the role of men in advancing women’s empowerment is an important research objective. In this note we report results related to the take-up of a women’s economic empowerment initiative aimed at sugarcane farmers in Uganda, and focus on the agency of men in determining the household’s participation. We also assess the impact of a couples-based workshop on project take-up. In this study, we partnered with Kakira Sugar Limited (KSL), a large sugar company near Jinja, Uganda, that sets the purchase price and buys most of its sugarcane from smallholder contract farm-ers, who are mainly men. Though women participate in labor related to sugarcane, they are infrequently involved in any of the sugar-related marketing activities, meaning that men generally control the sugar-related income.