Evidence review: Women's empowerment
Evidence review: Women's empowerment
Women’s empowerment is a key way to tackle gender inequality. Empowerment is an end in itself and also contributes to wider outcomes. By empowering women, individuals become agents of change and can catalyze climate action as well as contribute to meeting strategic SDGs. This evidence review depicts what evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of interventions which seek to promote women’s empowerment. An evidence gap map serves as a useful visual resource to understand the areas where research on the effectiveness of interventions for women’s empowerment is concentrated and where it is lacking. A systematic review evaluates the ability of life skills interventions to promote the empowerment of women of all ages. Small but significant positive changes from life skills training were detected for a range of outcome areas including leadership, attitudes to gender issues, sexual and reproductive health and rights, employment and life skills themselves.
Key documents
Approach paper: Evidence review on the effectiveness of interventions promoting women's empowerment in developing countries
November 2022
This evidence review depicts what evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of interventions which seek to promote women’s empowerment. The approach paper details the inclusion/exclusion criteria such as the focus on causal studies. It also details the methods used for the search of academic and other databases and websites. In addition, it describes the strategy for data-collection and analysis.
Evidence gap map: Interventions for women's empowerment in developing countries
December 2022
The evidence gap map shows most evidence is from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, especially on economic interventions and capacity-building interventions. It serves as a useful visual resource to understand the areas where research on the effectiveness of interventions for women’s empowerment is concentrated and where it is lacking.
Systematic review: Effectiveness of life skills training interventions for the empowerment of women in developing countries
December 2022
The systematic review evaluates the ability of life skills interventions to promote the empowerment of women of all ages. Overall, life skills positively affect a range of self, social and economic empowerment outcomes. Small but significant positive changes were detected for a range of outcome areas including leadership, attitudes to gender issues, sexual and reproductive health and rights, employment and life skills themselves.
