Children play near a routine check-in for the ongoing MORDOR study in Moubena, Niger on June 21, 2018.

COLLECTIVE ACTION

Women and girls engage in collective action when they stand together in solidarity and exercise voice to transform institutions and power relations. Collective action is a powerful tool for social transformation and is fundamental to women and girls’ empowerment on a societal level. Many factors can contribute to a woman’s ability to participate in collective action, including social capital through her network and her ability to move safely and freely throughout her community.

TIPS FOR MEASURING COLLECTIVE ACTION AND LEADERSHIP

  1. Use quantitative and qualitative measures to capture the strength of women and girls’ organizing and mobilizing; include both membership in groups, and the influence and achievements of collective action and mobilizing.
  2. Include measures that capture the extent to which women and girls experience substantive and transformative leadership, rather than just their presence
  3. Use participatory methods to capture those areas and decision-making bodies that matter for women and girls’ lives, or those spheres that are male dominated and in which women and girls’ leadership is unconventional

Illustrative Indicators

FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR THE POOR

OUTCOMES

1.1. Increased group strength of adolescent girls’ groups

INDICATORS

1.1.1. % adolescent girls engaged in training or networking in business training programs

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE

OUTCOMES

2.1. Stronger influence of women’s groups over public decision-making on sanitation

INDICATORS

2.1.1. % of decisions adopted from women's groups (self-help groups, community groups) contributions in sanitation committees

PROXY MEASURES VERSUS DIRECT MEASURES
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

The most common direct measure of agency is decision-making. Common proxy indicators include education, employment or individual control over assets. Although they are more focused, direct measures often require more questions in a survey to capture a full picture of agency. Proxy measures may be simpler and cheaper to implement, but they do not necessarily give a full picture of reality. For example, the proxy measure education would not tell you whether a woman’s level of education causes or is caused by greater empowerment among women. In some studies, proxy indicators are categorized as resources, and so are used in addition to the direct measure of decision-making (one component of agency) to capture a more accurate picture of agency in that setting.

DIMENSIONS OF AGENCY

Explore the other dimensions relating to agency via the links below.