Abstract
The path to attaining Gender Equality, the United Nations’ fifth Sustainable Development Goal by 2030, can be paved through women’s empowerment, particularly in developing countries like India, where it is a multifaceted concept influenced by various underlying factors. The present study endeavors to identify these factors by analyzing secondary data from the National Family and Health Survey 5, with a primary focus on ever-married women aged 15-49 in the state of West Bengal. Two decision-making indicators, namely, decisions about women’s health and control over women’s earnings, were employed to measure empowerment, and binary logit and probit models were estimated to identify the contributing factors. The result indicates that women who possess a bank account, use a personal mobile phone, and have any media exposure (such as newspapers, TV, or radio) are more likely to decide on their health and earnings. Furthermore, the age of women and household with female head has a positive influence on decision-making. However, women from rural areas with larger family sizes tend to have less decision-making power. The study found that educated and employed women have greater control over their earnings. These findings align with existing literature, although the regression results present a contrasting insight, which is women from wealthier households exhibit more control over their earnings but are significantly less likely to make decisions about their health. The present study concludes that women with authority over their earnings and health are empowered and might combat the pervasive issue of gender inequality in Indian society.
Presenters
Debashree PaulResearch Scholar, Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur, West Bengal, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Women empowerment, Sustainable development, Decision making, West Bengal, India
