Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The impact of women’s education and employment on their empowerment: an empirical evidence from household level survey

  • Published:
Quality & Quantity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study is an attempt to investigate the impact of women’s education and employment on their empowerment. Secondary data of Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2012–2013 has been used for Binary Logistic regression analysis. Women’s participation in decision making has been used as a proxy of women empowerment. According to our measure, women are consider empowered if they have participation in decisions regarding their own health care, mobility, spending of household income, major household purchases and decision regarding contraceptive use. Results show that both women’s education and employment play an important role in women empowerment. Educated women are more likely to participate in decision making regarding their own health care, major household purchases, visits to family and relatives, spending of household earnings and decision regarding contraceptive use as compared to uneducated women. Employment of women has also been found positively associated with their participation in decisions regarding their own health care, major household purchases, visits to family or relatives and spending of household earning.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abadian, S.: Women’s autonomy and its impact on fertility. World Dev. 24(12), 1793–1809 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Acharya, D.R., Bell, J.S., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E.R., Regmi, P.R.: Women’s autonomy in household decision-making: a demographic study in Nepal. Reprod. Health 7(1), 15–27 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adhikari, R.: Effect of women’s autonomy on maternal health service utilization in Nepal: a cross sectional study. BMC Women’s Health 16(1), 26–32 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agarwal, B.: Gender and command over property: a critical gap in economic analysis and policy in South Asia. World Dev. 22(10), 1455–1478 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad, F., Sultan, M.: Women’s empowerment and mobility in Pakistan: Result from a National Survey. In: Fifth Annual Research Conference, pp. 14–16 (2004)

  • Ali, M., Sultan, M.: Socio-cultural constraints and women’s decision-making power regarding reproductive behavior. Pak. Dev. Rev. 38(4), 689–696 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allendorf, K.: Do women’s land rights promote empowerment and child health in Nepal? World Dev. 35(11), 1975–1988 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amin, R., Becker, S.: NGO-promoted microcredit programs and women’s empowerment in rural Bangladesh: quantitative and qualitative evidence. J. Dev. Areas 32(2), 221–236 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  • Basu, A.M., Basu, K.: Women’s economic roles and child survival: the case of India. Health Transit. Rev. 1(1), 83–103 (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  • Batliwala, S.: The meaning of women’s empowerment: new concepts from action. In: Giata, S., Germaine, A., Chen, L. (eds.) Population Policies Reconsideration: Health, Empowerment and Rights. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  • Channar, Z., Abbasi, Z., Ujan, I.: Gender discrimination in workforce and its impact on the employees. Pak. J. Commer. Soc. Sci. 5(1), 177–191 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaudhry, I.S., Nosheen, F.: The determinants of women empowerment in Southern Punjab Pakistan: an empirical analysis. Eur. J. Soc. Sci. 10(2), 216–229 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaudhary, A.R., Chani, M.I., Pervaiz, Z.: An analysis of different approaches to women empowerment: a case study of Pakistan. World Appl. Sci. J. 16(7), 971–980 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  • Dali, S.M., Thapa, M., Shrestha, S.: Educating Nepalese women to provide improved care for their childbearing daughters-in-law. World Health Forum (WHO) 13(4), 353–354 (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  • DFID: Gender equality action plan 2007–2009 making faster progress to gender equality. A DFID Practice Paper, UK (2007)

  • Duraisamy, P., Malathy, R.: Impact of public programs on fertility and gender specific investment in human capital of children in rural India: cross sectional and time series analyses. Res. Popul. Econ. 7, 157–187 (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutta, M.: Women’s employment and its effects on Bengali households of Shillong, India. J. Comp. Fam. Stud. 2, 217–229 (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutta, M.: Women’s power and authority within middle-class households in Kolkata. Contemp. South Asia. 11(1), 7–18 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farooq, M.: Impact of women employment on empowerment behavior: a case study of Rawalakot Azad Kashmir. Pak. Sci. Int. 27(4), 3811–3816 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankenberg, E., Thomas, D.: Measuring Power. Food Consumption and Nutrition Division. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  • Galor, O., Weil, D.N.: The gender gap, fertility, and growth. Am. Econ. Rev. 86(3), 374–387 (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  • Golla, A.M., Malhotra, A., Nanda, P., Mehra, R.: Definition Framework and Indicators. International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), Washington (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  • Gujarati, D.N.: Basic Econometrics. Tata McGraw-Hill Education (2009)

  • Hashemi, S.M., Schuler, S.R., Riley, A.P.: Rural credit programs and women’s empowerment in Bangladesh. World Dev. 24(4), 635–653 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heaton, T.B., Huntsman, T.J., Flake, D.F.: The effects of status on women’s autonomy in Bolivia, Peru and Nicaragua. Popul. Res. Policy Rev. 24(3), 283–300 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hof, C., Richters, A.: Exploring intersections between teenage pregnancy and gender violence: lessons from Zimbabwe. Afr. J. Rep. Health 3(1), 51–65 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jejeebhoy, S.J.: Convergence and divergence in spouses’ perspectives on women’s autonomy in rural India. Stud. Fam. Plann. 33(4), 299–308 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jejeebhoy, S.J., Sathar, Z.A.: Women’s autonomy in India and Pakistan: the influence of religion and region. Popul. Dev. Rev. 27(4), 687–712 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, L., Snelgrove, A., Muckosy, P.: The double-X factor: harnessing female human capital for economic growth. Int. J. Bus. Emerg. Mark. 1(4), 291–293 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kabeer, N.: Women, wages and intra-household power relations in urban Bangladesh. Dev. Change. 28(2), 261–302 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kabeer, N.: Resources, agency, achievements: reflections on the measurement of women’s empowerment. Dev. Change 30(3), 435–464 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kabeer, N.: Gender equality and women’s empowerment: a critical analysis of the third millennium development goal 1. Gend. Dev. 13(1), 13–24 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, T.M., Maan, A.A.: Socio-cultural milieu of women’s empowerment in district Faisalabad. Pak. J. Agric. Sci. 45(3), 78–90 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, H., Sindher, R., Hussain, I.: Studying the role of education in eliminating violence against women. Pak. J. Commer. Soc. Sci. 7(2), 405–416 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  • Klasen, S., Schüler, D.: Reforming the gender-related development index and the gender empowerment measure: implementing some specific proposals. Fem. Econ. 17(1), 1–30 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lagerlof, N.: Gender Inequality, Fertility and Growth. Mimeo, Department of Economics, University of Sydney, Sydney (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahendra, S.D.: Female work participation using occupational data from NFHs data set. Econ. Political Wkly. 39(7), 16–29 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  • Malhotra, A., Mather, M.: Do schooling and work empower women in developing countries? Gender and domestic decisions in Sri Lanka. Sociol. Forum 12(4), 599–630 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason, K.O.: The status of women: conceptual and methodological issues in demographic studies. Sociol. Forum 1(2), 284–300 (1986)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McAlister, C., Baskett, T.F.: Female education and maternal mortality: a worldwide survey. J. Obstet. Gynaecol. Can. 28(11), 983–990 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mies, M., Bennholdt-Thomsen, V.: The Subsistence Perspective: Beyond the Globalised Economy. Spinifex Press, North Geelong (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  • Mostofa, G., Tareque, I., Haque, M., Islam, T.M.: Mathematical modeling of women empowerment in Bangladesh. Res. J. Appl. Sci. 3(6), 416–420 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Murtaza, K.F.: Women empowerment through higher education in Gilgit-Baltistan. Int. J. Acad. Res. Bus. Soc. Sci. 2(9), 343–367 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  • NIPS: Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2012–2013 Islamabad. National Institute of Population Studies and Macro International Inc, Pakistan (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pambè, M.W., Gnoumou, B., Kaboré, I.: Relationship between women’s socioeconomic status and empowerment in Burkina Faso: a focus on participation in decision-making and experience of domestic violence. Etude de la Population Africaine 28(2), 1146 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parveen, S., Leonhäuser, I.U.: Empowerment of Rural Women in Bangladesh: A Household Level Analysis, vol. 72. Margraf, Berlin (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pervaiz, Z., Chani, M.I., Jan, S.A., Chaudhary, A.R.: Gender inequality and economic growth: A time series analysis for Pakistan. Middle East J. Sci. Res. 10(4), 434–439 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  • Pervez, U., Jan, D., Zafarullah, M., Khan, A.: Women in agricultural decision making: Pakistan’s experience. Sarhad J. Agric. 28(2), 361–364 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  • Quisumbing, A.R., Maluccio, J.A.: Intrahousehold Allocation and Gender relations: New Empirical Evidence from Four Developing Countries. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, L., Rao, V.: The determinants of gender equity in India: examining Dysonand Moore’s thesis with new data. Popul. Dev. Rev. 30(2), 239–268 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, M., Abedin, S., Zaman, K., Islam, N.: Women’s empowerment and reproductive health: experience from Chapai Nawabganj District in Bangladesh. Pak. J. Soc. Sci. 5(9), 883–888 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  • Roy, T.K., Niranjan, S.: Indicators of women’s empowerment in India. Asia Pac. Popul. J. 19(3), 23–38 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  • Roy, K.C., Tisdell, C.A.: Property rights in women’s empowerment in rural India: a review. Inter. J. Soc. Econ. 29(4), 315–334 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sathar, Z.A., Kazi, S.: Women’s autonomy in the context of rural Pakistan. Pak. Dev. Rev. 39(2), 89–110 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schuler, S.R., Hashemi, S.M.: Credit programs, women’s empowerment and contraceptive use in rural Bangladesh. Stud. Fam. Plan. 25(2), 65–76 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, T.P.: Why governments should invest more to educate girls. World Dev. 30(2), 207–225 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senarath, U., Gunawardena, N.S.: Women’s autonomy in decision making for health care in South Asia. Asia Pac. J. Public Health 21(2), 137–143 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma, U.: Women and Higher Education. Commonwealth Publishers, New Delhi (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  • Siddique, M.A.B.: Gender issues in poverty alleviation: a case study of Bangladesh. Int. J. Soc. Econ. 25(6/7/8), 1095–1111 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sohail, M.: Women empowerment and economic development—an exploratory study in Pakistan. J. Bus. Stud. Q. 5(4), 210–221 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, A.V., Adekoya, A.E.: Women and power transformation in rural households: a case study of Osun State, Nigeria. Soc. Sci. 1(3), 231–234 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  • Steele, F., Amin, S., Naved, R.T.: The Impact of An Integrated Micro-Credit Program on Women’s Empowerment and Fertility Behavior in Rural Bangladesh, vol. 115. Population Council, Policy Research Division, New York City (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  • World Economic Forum: The global Gender Gap Report. World Economic Forum, Geneva (2016)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National College of Business Administration and Economics Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan

    Sofia Riaz & Zahid Pervaiz

Authors
  1. Sofia Riaz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zahid Pervaiz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sofia Riaz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Riaz, S., Pervaiz, Z. The impact of women’s education and employment on their empowerment: an empirical evidence from household level survey. Qual Quant 52, 2855–2870 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-018-0713-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-018-0713-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation