Report: Women’s Lives and Challenges: Equality and Empowerment since 2000
March 2014
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Demographic and Health Surveys Program
Sara K. Head, Sally Zweimueller, Claudia Marchena, and Elliott Hoel of ICF International.

Full Report:  http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/OD66/OD66.pdf

Excerpt from Introduction
This report assesses the progress made toward gender equality and women’s empowerment since the MDGs were adopted in 2000. It summarizes findings from 95 surveys conducted by MEASURE DHS in 47 countries from 2000 to 2011. While the largest group of countries comes from sub-Saharan Africa, every region of the developing world is represented. Data on trends are available for 33 countries that hosted 2 or more surveys in this time period.

Together these data give us an accurate picture of women’s lives. They describe the current status of women around the world and show how much change, for better or worse, has occurred since 2000. The findings also suggest how much work remains to achieve the MDGs and broader goals related to gender equality and women’s empowerment. Dozens of indicators pinpoint areas of progress and areas that lag behind.

The findings are organized around three outcomes proposed by USAID’s Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy.1

The first chapter, “Resources for Empowerment and Equality,” explores gender disparities in resources, services, and opportunities. It examines women’s access to basic building blocks of empowerment, including education, employment, and health care, as well as barriers to educational and economic opportunities, such as ill health and early marriage.

The second chapter, “Women’s Control of their Own Lives,” examines whether women’s ability to realize their rights and determine their life outcomes has increased. It investigates how much influence women have in key areas of their daily lives: making household decisions, deciding how earnings are used, planning their families, and negotiating sex.

The third chapter, “Violence in Women’s Lives,” assesses the success of efforts to reduce gender-based violence and mitigate its effects. It examines women’s experience of intimate partner violence and female genital cutting. It also explores whether survivors of violence feel empowered to seek help.

While the focus is on women, the report presents men’s data where available. Comparing women’s and men’s experiences allows us to identify gender disparities and measure their extent; it also provides some insights on broader social norms and attitudes. In addition, a series of boxes highlights countries that are considered to be areas of conflict and insecurity by the U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security.2 When empowered, women can play critical roles in preventing conflict and building peace.