The impact of rural women's employment on their empowerment at household level: the case of Sebeta Hawas <i>Woreda</i>, central Oremia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Women’s participation in economic activities is considered as a vital factor for ensuring sustainable development. Accordingly, the Ethiopian government has enacted different policy measures which give due emphasis to enhancing women’s employment opportunities in its effort to alleviate poverty. Such policy measures are also believed to redress gender inequality within households and the society at large. This paper attempts to analyse the impacts of wage employment and self-employment on wives’ household decision-making power in their marital life based on the data generated from a rural community in Central Oromia, Ethiopia. The study employed mixed research methods. A survey was conducted to collect quantitative information from 555 currently married women residing in five sample kebeles in the study area. Propensity score matching method was used to estimate the effect of women’s wage employment and self-employment on their decision-making power. The quantitative results were substantiated using the qualitative data collected using in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, which were analysed using constant thematic analysis. As argued in the theory of resources in cultural context, the results reveal that, irrespective of employment category, employment fails to positively affect the wives’ household decision-making power. The paper, in general, argues that it is crucial to give due attention to the role of a web of power structures (socio-cultural, economic, and political) in order to effectively ensure women’s empowerment and address gender inequality in the country.

Keywords: rural women’s employment, empowerment, household, decision-making power, Sebeta Hawas, Central Oromia, Ethiopia