Empowering women through direct digital wage payments

India’s rate of female labour force participation dropped from 37% in 1990 to 28% in 2015. Can greater control over earned income incentivise women to work and influence gender norms? This article discusses findings from a large-scale experiment in collaboration with government partners in rural Madhya Pradesh. It finds that providing poor women with more control of their potential wages increased labour force participation and led to more progressive gender norms.

• Date: 29/11/2019
• Sector: Any
• Topics: Gender equality, Inclusive finance
• Regions: Asia and the Pacific
• Resource type: News & Blogs
• Institutions: Ideas for India