Choosing the right WEAI

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) measures women’s empowerment based on interviews of women and men within the same household. It can be used to assess women’s empowerment as well as compare it to men’s, generating important data to track progress toward the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG5) on women’s empowerment and gender equity. Different versions of WEAI exist for different uses, including the original WEAI, which is reported at the country or regional level, the Abbreviated WEAI (A-WEAI), and a version for project use, pro-WEAI. Pro-WEAI also has specialized modules related to health and nutrition, livestock, and market inclusion. The WEAI data collection instruments include qualitative protocols for understanding local meanings of empowerment. Which WEAI instrument is right for you? This interactive tool will guide you through a series of questions to help you identify the best version for your purpose. Once you have identified the right WEAI, check out the latest versions, guidelines, qualitative protocols, and publications on the WEAI Resource Center site and our mixed-methods online WEAI course. For additional information, contact IFPRI-WEAI@cgiar.org

Trying to understand gendered outcomes of an intervention (e.g., impact assessment/evaluation of a project or policy change).

Trying to understand gender issues in a particular location (e.g., research that is not an impact assessment/evaluation, such as gender analysis, scoping studies, or learning).

Are you interested in women’s empowerment outcomes of the project, in addition to outcomes related to reaching or benefitting women?

Which more closely describes your situation?

No, we are mostly interested in reach or benefits.

Yes, women’s empowerment is one of the key objectives (as primary or intermediate outcome) of this project.

To reduce the time needed to administer the survey, four of the ten indicators were dropped, leaving six indicators across the same five domains, which is known as the Abbreviated-WEAI (A-WEAI). The four indicators that were dropped when developing A-WEAI are: autonomy in production; purchase, sale, or transfer of assets (self-reported ownership of assets remains); confidence speaking in public on certain topics; and satisfaction with leisure time. These indicators were dropped either because they had been difficult to administer in some countries or gave somewhat redundant information. See here for more information.

Look for indicators of the reach or benefits you are interested in (e.g., the number of women attending a training program, or sex-disaggregated data for income, tenure security, or nutrition). A subset of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), the Abbreviated WEAI (A-WEAI), or the project-level WEAI (pro-WEAI) indicators (such as asset ownership, access to credit, group membership) can also be used to collect information on outcomes related to benefits.

Are you primarily concerned with women in agricultural production (broadly defined to include crops, livestock, and fisheries) or across value chains (e.g. including those involved in processing, trading, and marketing, either as entrepreneurs or wage workers)?

Across value chains, including farming, processing, trading, and marketing, and including producers, entrepreneurs, and wage workers.

Agricultural production of crops, livestock, and fisheries.

The pro-WEAI for Market Inclusion (pro-WEAI+MI) is likely to be the best match for you. Whereas the WEAI and the Abbreviated WEAI (A-WEAI) are more focused on the production dimension of agriculture, the pro-WEAI+MI takes the tool one step further to measure empowerment across the value chain. Pilot studies in Bangladesh, the Philippines, Benin, and Malawi assessed empowerment of women and men as different types of value chain actors and in different value chains, respectively. The pro-WEAI+MI builds on the pro-WEAI with additional value-chain specific indicators.

Do you already have data from the original Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) at baseline?

Yes

Not sure

How resource constrained are you on your survey?

We need the bare minimum of questions, even if that means missing out on important aspects of women’s empowerment.

Our resources are tight and we don’t want to bother respondents with excessive questions, but we want to be sure that we capture essential aspects of empowerment.

The Abbreviated WEAI (A-WEAI) is your best option for now. However, you may want to look at the other indicators in the project-level WEAI (pro-WEAI) (autonomy in income; self-efficacy; attitudes about intimate partner violence against women; access to and decisions on financial service beyond credit; and visiting important places) to see if it would be useful to have information on any of them, even if you are only computing scores for the A-WEAI. Check back in 2023 to see whether the Women’s Empowerment Metric for National Statistical Systems (WEMNS) might be suitable for future studies.

The project-level WEAI (pro-WEAI) is likely to be the best match for you. Pro-WEAI measures women’s empowerment in various types of agricultural development projects. Pro-WEAI is made up of 10 indicators that measure three types of agency: intrinsic agency (power within), instrumental agency (power to), and collective agency (power with). Standardized components of the survey will be comparable across all projects using pro-WEAI, and specialized project-relevant modules will be comparable within clusters of projects addressing similar pathways to empowerment in the agricultural sector. Continue to Q7 to check if additional add-ons would be useful.

Is this a livestock-oriented intervention where you would be interested in detailed livestock modules?

Yes, this is a livestock-focused system.

This is a mixed farming system, but livestock is a key part of intervention, and we would want to be sure we capture key livestock-related aspects of women’s empowerment.

No, livestock is not a major part of this intervention or the livelihoods of the participants.

The Women’s Empowerment in Livestock Index (WELI) is likely to be the best match for you. WELI includes pro-WEAI plus detailed livestock modules. See this article for more information on WELI.

The pro-WEAI + Livestock is likely to be the best match for you. Additional indicators are included to examine the impacts of agricultural development strategies that emphasize livestock in their pathways to empowerment. Contact us (IFPRI-WEAI@cgiar.org) for more information about this module. Continue to Q8 to check if additional add-ons would be useful.

The project-level WEAI (pro-WEAI) is likely to be the best match for you. Continue to Q8 to check if additional add-ons would be useful.

Is this a health or nutrition-oriented intervention where you would be interested in women’s empowerment relative to health and nutrition (beyond improvements in health or nutrition status)?

Yes

No, health and nutrition are not a major part of this intervention, or we are already capturing enough about health and nutrition benefit outcomes, without looking further at women’s empowerment in health and nutrition-related decisions.

Consider adding the Health and Nutrition optional module to pro-WEAI. Additional indicators are included to examine agency/decision-making with respect to health and nutrition to understand the impacts of agricultural development strategies that emphasize health and nutrition in their pathways to empowerment. Contact us (IFPRI-WEAI@cgiar.org) for more information about this module.

The project-level WEAI (pro-WEAI) is likely to be the best match for you.

[To decide whether to use original WEAI] Are you interested in the four indicators that were dropped from the original WEAI?

If unsure of the definitions of reach, benefit, or empower, see this blog post on the reach-benefit-empower framework.

Yes, we are interested in the additional indicators from original WEAI, understanding that there may be complexities in the data collection and interpretation of those indicators.

The four original WEAI indicators that were dropped when developing A-WEAI are not of major interest.

Continue to use the original WEAI. If you already have original WEAI data for an intervention (e.g., at baseline) and are interested in all WEAI indicators, you may want to collect the original WEAI at endline for comparability. You may also want to use the original WEAI if the previous WEAI data can no longer be re-processed due to various issues (e.g., lack of capacity in using Stata).

The Abbreviated WEAI (A-WEAI) is your best option for now. If you are not interested specifically in changes in the indicators that were dropped, you could compute the A-WEAI from the baseline and only collect A-WEAI at endline. The A-WEAI indicators are all included in the project-level WEAI (pro-WEAI), and therefore you can also collect the pro-WEAI at endline. You may want to look at the other indicators in pro-WEAI (autonomy in income; self-efficacy; attitudes about intimate partner violence against women; access to and decisions on financial service beyond credit; and visiting important places) to see if it would be useful to have information on any of them, even if you are only computing scores for the A-WEAI. Continue to Q7 to check if additional pro-WEAI add-ons would be useful. Check back in 2023 to see whether the Women’s Empowerment Metric for National Statistical Systems (WEMNS) might be suitable for future studies.

For Impact Assessments and Valuations

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For other types of research (e.g., gender analysis, scoping studies, or learning/understanding)

Are you interested in women’s empowerment status (i.e., the overall level of empowerment, as well as particular areas of empowerment or disempowerment) in your research area?

No, we are mostly interested in other aspects of women’s welfare or gender equality.

Yes, women’s empowerment is an important aspect of this work.

For distinctions between empowerment and other aspects of women’s welfare or gender equality, see this blog post on the reach-benefit-empower framework.

Look for other survey instruments that measure aspects of women’s welfare or gender equality (e.g., sex-disaggregated data for income, tenure security, or nutrition). A subset of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), the Abbreviated WEAI (A-WEAI), or the project-level WEAI (pro-WEAI) indicators (such as asset ownership, access to credit, group membership) might also be used to collect relevant information.

Are you primarily concerned with women in agricultural production (broadly defined to include crops, livestock, and fisheries) or across value chains (e.g., including those involved in processing, trading, and marketing, either as entrepreneurs or wage workers)?

Q10

Agricultural production of crops, livestock, and fisheries.

Across value chains, including farming, processing, trading, and marketing, and including producers, entrepreneurs, and wage workers.

Do you already have data from the original Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) that you plan to use or build on (e.g., in a panel data set)?

Q11

Yes

Not sure

[To decide whether to use original WEAI] Are you interested in the 4 indicators that were dropped from the original WEAI?

Q12

To reduce the time needed to administer the survey, four of the ten indicators were dropped, leaving six indicators across the same five domains, which is known as the Abbreviated-WEAI (A-WEAI). The four indicators that were dropped when developing A-WEAI are: autonomy in production; purchase, sale, or transfer of assets (self-reported ownership of assets remains); confidence speaking in public on certain topics; and satisfaction with leisure time. These indicators were dropped either because they had been difficult to administer in some countries or gave somewhat redundant information. See here for more information.

Continue to use the original WEAI. If you already have original WEAI data and are interested in all WEAI indicators, you may want to collect the original WEAI in further rounds for comparability. You may also want to use the original WEAI if the previous WEAI data can no longer be re-processed due to various issues (e.g., lack of capacity in using Stata).

The Abbreviated WEAI (A-WEAI) is your best option for now. If you are not interested specifically in changes in the indicators that were dropped, you could compute the A-WEAI from the original data and only collect new data for A-WEAI indicators. The A-WEAI indicators are all included in the project-level WEAI (pro-WEAI), and therefore you can also collect the pro-WEAI. You may want to look at the other indicators in pro-WEAI (autonomy in income; self-efficacy; attitudes about intimate partner violence against women; access to and decisions on financial services beyond credit; and visiting important places) to see if it would be useful to have information on any of them, even if you are only computing scores for the A-WEAI. Continue to Q14 to check if additional pro-WEAI add-ons would be useful. Check back in 2023 to see whether the Women’s Empowerment Metric for National Statistical Systems (WEMNS) might be suitable for future studies.

The 4 original WEAI indicators that were dropped when developing A-WEAI are not of major interest.

Yes, we are interested in the additional indicators from original WEAI, understanding that there may be complexities in the data collection and interpretation of those indicators.

How resource constrained are you on your survey?

Q13

We need the bare minimum of questions, even if that means missing out on important aspects of women’s empowerment.

Our resources are tight and we don’t want to bother respondents with excessive questions, but we want to be sure that we capture essential aspects of empowerment.

The project-level WEAI (pro-WEAI) is likely to be the best match for you. Pro-WEAI measures women’s empowerment in various types of agricultural development projects. Pro-WEAI is made up of 10 indicators that measure 3 types of agency: intrinsic agency (power within), instrumental agency (power to), and collective agency (power with). Standardized components of the survey will be comparable across all projects using pro-WEAI, and specialized project-relevant modules will be comparable within clusters of projects addressing similar pathways to empowerment in the agricultural sector. Continue to Q14 to check if additional add-ons would be useful.

Is the main livelihood of the study population based on livestock production and you would be interested in detailed livestock modules?

Q14

Yes, this is a livestock-focused system.

No, livestock is not a major part the livelihoods of the participants.

This is a mixed farming system, but livestock is a key part of the livelihoods of the participants, and we would want to be sure we capture key livestock-related aspects of women’s empowerment.

The Women’s Empowerment in Livestock Index (WELI) is likely to be the best match for you. WELI includes pro-WEAI plus detailed livestock modules. See this article for more information on WELI.

The project-level WEAI (pro-WEAI) is likely to be the best match for you. Continue to Q15 to check if additional add-ons would be useful.

Is this a health or nutrition-oriented study where you would be interested in women’s empowerment relative to health and nutrition (beyond improvements in health or nutrition status)?

Q15

Yes

No, health and nutrition are not a major part of this study, or we are already capturing enough about health and nutrition aspects, without looking further at women’s empowerment in health and nutrition-related decisions.

The project-level WEAI (pro-WEAI) is likely to be the best match for you.

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), released in 2012, is an aggregate index based on individual-level data collected from both men and women within the same household, offering an innovative method to measuring women’s empowerment. WEAI has five domains of empowerment with ten indicators organized thematically. The index is comprised of two sub-indices: one measures five domains of empowerment for women (5DE) and the other measures gender parity in empowerment within the household (GPI).

WEAI

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WEAI

The abbreviated WEAI (A-WEAI) was released in 2015 and builds on the original WEAI. It shortens interview length and modifies questions that were difficult to implement in the field, while maintaining cross-cultural applicability. All five domains are retained, but the ten indicators in the original WEAI are reduced to six in the A-WEAI and it takes approximately 30 percent less time to administer than the original WEAI. WEAI and A-WEAI were designed to measure empowerment in population-based surveys.

A-WEAI

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A-WEAI

The project-level WEAI (or pro-WEAI) is designed for impact evaluations of agricultural development projects that aim to empower women and transform gender relations. Pro-WEAI has ten indicators (reduced from the initial 12 indicators) mapped to three domains of agency: intrinsic agency, instrumental agency, and collective agency. Pro-WEAI adds specialized project-relevant modules, such as an enhanced livestock module and a module specific to nutrition and health projects, and includes qualitative protocols for mixed methods studies.

PRO-WEAI

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Pro-WEAI

The pro-WEAI for market inclusion (pro-WEAI+MI; formerly known as WEAI4VC) is the latest addition to the suite of WEAI tools. While WEAI, A-WEAI, and pro-WEAI primarily focus on agricultural production, pro-WEAI+MI seeks to expand this focus to include other nodes of agricultural value chains, such as processing, marketing, trading, and wage work. Pro-WEAI+MI includes the core pro-WEAI module plus new complementary indicators to investigate barriers to market access and inclusion for different value chain actors.

PRO-WEAI + MI

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PRO-WEAI+MI

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