Publication

This paper examines the concept of women’s empowerment, how it has been put into action around the world and how the international development community can further it. The authors suggest that there are many pathways to women’s empowerment, but that important enabling conditions include women’s collective action, constitutional and legal reform, social and economic policy measures, and changes in sociocultural norms. They also suggest that to further women’s empowerment, the international community must support the political actions of women and their allies to change gender and other power hierarchies.