2: What is women's “economic” empowerment? Meanings and measurement

Beginning in the twenty-first century, development stakeholders began to focus on women's economic empowerment (WEE) as a key pathway to achieve global gender equality. Although interest in WEE has continued to develop over the last three decades, no unified definition of women's economic empowermen...

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Glavni autori: Robbenhaar, Madeline, Dinale, Daniel, Breitkreuz, Rhonda, Baird, Marian
Format: Online
Jezik:engleski
Izdano: Edward Elgar Publishing 2026
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Online pristup:https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/177375
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author Robbenhaar, Madeline
Dinale, Daniel
Breitkreuz, Rhonda
Baird, Marian
author_browse Baird, Marian
Breitkreuz, Rhonda
Dinale, Daniel
Robbenhaar, Madeline
author_facet Robbenhaar, Madeline
Dinale, Daniel
Breitkreuz, Rhonda
Baird, Marian
author_sort Robbenhaar, Madeline
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Beginning in the twenty-first century, development stakeholders began to focus on women's economic empowerment (WEE) as a key pathway to achieve global gender equality. Although interest in WEE has continued to develop over the last three decades, no unified definition of women's economic empowerment yet exists. As a concept, women's economic empowerment is muddy, with understandings and applications differing amongst stakeholders. In this chapter, we aim to advance conceptual clarity surrounding WEE by providing a high-level overview of the development and current state of women's economic empowerment in global contexts. First, this chapter traces the history of women's economic empowerment, beginning with feminist women's empowerment initiatives in the 1970s and ending with the contested space of WEE in the contemporary period. Next, we provide an overview of prominent definitions of WEE and delineate between individualistic market-oriented definitions and feminist, critical human ecological definitions. Then, this chapter reviews key approaches to measuring women's economic empowerment. Based on this analysis, authentic empowerment is understood to require a contextual, structural, and transformative vision – one that enhances individual outcomes while addressing broader conditions that sustain inequality.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1773752026-06-11T14:10:18Z 2: What is women's “economic” empowerment? Meanings and measurement Robbenhaar, Madeline Dinale, Daniel Breitkreuz, Rhonda Baird, Marian Women's Economic Empowerment; Definition of WEE; Measurement; Individualist; Market Approaches; Feminist; Critical Human Ecological Approaches JBSF1 RNT RNC Beginning in the twenty-first century, development stakeholders began to focus on women's economic empowerment (WEE) as a key pathway to achieve global gender equality. Although interest in WEE has continued to develop over the last three decades, no unified definition of women's economic empowerment yet exists. As a concept, women's economic empowerment is muddy, with understandings and applications differing amongst stakeholders. In this chapter, we aim to advance conceptual clarity surrounding WEE by providing a high-level overview of the development and current state of women's economic empowerment in global contexts. First, this chapter traces the history of women's economic empowerment, beginning with feminist women's empowerment initiatives in the 1970s and ending with the contested space of WEE in the contemporary period. Next, we provide an overview of prominent definitions of WEE and delineate between individualistic market-oriented definitions and feminist, critical human ecological definitions. Then, this chapter reviews key approaches to measuring women's economic empowerment. Based on this analysis, authentic empowerment is understood to require a contextual, structural, and transformative vision – one that enhances individual outcomes while addressing broader conditions that sustain inequality. Published 2026-06-11T14:10:16Z 2026-06-11T14:10:16Z 2026-05-07 chapter 9781803921174 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/177375 eng image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/women-s-economic-empowerment-and-the-state-9781803921167.html https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap-oa/book/9781803921174/chapter2.xml Edward Elgar Publishing Edward Elgar Publishing 10.4337/9781803921174.00010 10.4337/9781803921174.00010 01ceac28-75b4-492a-8eec-f9b98bc6b28c https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ 9781803921174 Edward Elgar Publishing Cheltenham, UK open access
spellingShingle Women's Economic Empowerment; Definition of WEE; Measurement; Individualist; Market Approaches; Feminist; Critical Human Ecological Approaches
JBSF1
RNT
RNC
Robbenhaar, Madeline
Dinale, Daniel
Breitkreuz, Rhonda
Baird, Marian
2: What is women's “economic” empowerment? Meanings and measurement
title 2: What is women's “economic” empowerment? Meanings and measurement
title_full 2: What is women's “economic” empowerment? Meanings and measurement
title_fullStr 2: What is women's “economic” empowerment? Meanings and measurement
title_full_unstemmed 2: What is women's “economic” empowerment? Meanings and measurement
title_short 2: What is women's “economic” empowerment? Meanings and measurement
title_sort 2 what is women s economic empowerment meanings and measurement
topic Women's Economic Empowerment; Definition of WEE; Measurement; Individualist; Market Approaches; Feminist; Critical Human Ecological Approaches
JBSF1
RNT
RNC
topic_facet Women's Economic Empowerment; Definition of WEE; Measurement; Individualist; Market Approaches; Feminist; Critical Human Ecological Approaches
JBSF1
RNT
RNC
url https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/177375
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