Pathways Synthesis Report. Empowerment: a journey not a destination
Abstract
This Pathways synthesis report presents the findings and key messages from research from 59 projects in 15 countries carried out over 5 years. The key findings were:
1. What is empowering to one woman is not necessarily empowering to another. 2. Women鈥檚 ability to exercise voice and strategic forms of control over their lives is linked to being able to generate regular and independent sources of income. 3. Relationships lie at the heart of women鈥檚 empowerment. 4. Sexuality is a vital but neglected dimension of women鈥檚 empowerment. 5. Understanding women鈥檚 empowerment calls for rigorous and imaginative combinations of research methodologies and methods. 6. Efforts to promote women鈥檚 empowerment need to do more than give individual women economic or political opportunities. 7. Policies and laws that affirm women鈥檚 rights and open up pathways for women鈥檚 empowerment are critically important. 8. Women鈥檚 organising is vital for sustainable change. 9. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to women鈥檚 empowerment. 10. Fostering public engagement and debate is essential to making policies that work for women鈥檚 empowerment and gender equality. 11. Recognising and supporting those within the state who are responsible for the implementation of women鈥檚 empowerment interventions is crucial. 12. Changing attitudes and values is as important to bringing about women鈥檚 empowerment.
Citation
Anon. Pathways Synthesis Report. Empowerment: a journey not a destination. Pathways of Women鈥檚 Empowerment, Brighton, UK (2011) 56 pp.
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