© Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation I Riccardo Gangale I Ortensia Ngera (left) and Rose Wanjirue, participate at the Okoa Maisha Community based meeting in Kavengero, Kenya I 2016

INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES

Institutional structures are the social arrangements, including both formal and informal rules and practices, that shape and influence women and girls’ ability to express agency and assert control over resources. The empowerment model locates institutional structures within four spheres in which women and girls live their lives: the family, community, market and state. Within each of these spheres, institutional arrangements are shaped by formal laws and policies, norms, and relations among groups and individuals.

WOMEN AND GIRLS’ EMPOWERMENT

DIMENSIONS OF INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES

Learn more about the different dimensions of institutional structures by clicking on the links below.