Power with: conceptualizing and measuring women’s collective agency

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and advanced research instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Food Policy Research Instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationCarolina Population Center en
cg.contributor.affiliationBioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agricultureen
cg.contributor.affiliationTufts Universityen
cg.contributor.donorCGIAR Trust Funden
cg.contributor.initiativeGender Equality
cg.creator.identifierKatrina Kosec: 0000-0002-5126-5215
cg.creator.identifierAudrey Pereira: 0000-0001-7982-7454
cg.howPublishedFormally Published en
cg.identifier.projectIFPRI - Natural Resources and Resilience Unit
cg.identifier.projectIFPRI - Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit
cg.identifier.publicationRankNot ranked
cg.isbn92-9146-825-8en
cg.number22en
cg.placeNairobi, Kenyaen
cg.reviewStatusInternal Reviewen
cg.subject.impactPlatformGender
cg.subject.sdgSDG 5 - Gender equalityen
cg.subject.sdgSDG 17 - Partnerships for the goalsen
dc.contributor.authorMeinzen-Dick, Ruth S.en
dc.contributor.authorElDidi, Hagaren
dc.contributor.authorPereira, Audreyen
dc.contributor.authorHeckert, Jessicaen
dc.contributor.authorKosec, Katrinaen
dc.contributor.authorNchanji, Eileenen
dc.contributor.authorSeymour, Gregen
dc.contributor.authorDoss, Cherylen
dc.date.accessioned2024-11-27T06:40:04Zen
dc.date.available2024-11-27T06:40:04Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/162778
dc.titlePower with: conceptualizing and measuring women’s collective agencyen
dcterms.abstractCollective agency, or power with, is fundamental to feminist approaches to empowerment. Yet despite the growth in measures of women’s empowerment in recent years, and the prevalence of group-based approaches to foster empowerment, conceptualization and empirical measurement of collective agency remains a critical gap. This paper attempts to bridge this gap through a literature review, expert opinions and the experience of researchers working with practitioners who are mobilizing women’s groups in four case studies. We develop a conceptual framework based on Kabeer’s (1999, 2002) framework of resources, agency and achievements. We then use that framework for mapping key concepts related to collective agency, including collective efficacy, collective action, collective achievements, and tangible and intangible resources (including social capital). We discuss the importance of considering these key concepts at the individual and at the collective levels. We illustrate potential methods and challenges of operationalizing these concepts through four case study projects in India, Guatemala, Uganda and Nigeria, and discuss the challenges of developing a common instrument to measure collective agency, in theory and in practice. With examples of how key concepts related to collective agency have been operationalized, the conceptual framework offers guidance for moving beyond simplistic notions that forming groups automatically empowers women. It provides a way to study how different types of groups effectively help women achieve individual and collective goals. Combined with individual respondent characteristics, group-level measures can help researchers and practitioners understand how women can exercise voice and agency in different types of groups. The group-level measures also examine how group composition, organizational structures and decision-making processes impact collective agency and effectiveness.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.audienceCGIARen
dcterms.audienceDonorsen
dcterms.audienceScientistsen
dcterms.bibliographicCitationMeinzen-Dick, R., Hagar, E., Pereira, A., Heckert, J., Kosec, K., Nchanji, E., Seymour, G. and Doss, C. 2024. Power with: conceptualizing and measuring women’s collective agency. CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform Working Paper 22. Nairobi, Kenya: CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/162778en
dcterms.isPartOfCGIAR GENDER Impact Platform Working Paperen
dcterms.issued2024
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0
dcterms.publisherCGIAR GENDER Impact Platformen
dcterms.subjectgenderen
dcterms.subjectwomenen
dcterms.subjectagricultureen
dcterms.typeWorking Paper

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