What is Women’s Economic Empowerment? 4 Barriers and Solutions
TechnoServe helps hardworking women around the world to overcome economic barriers and improve their lives.
Editor’s note: This blog was updated in February 2026 from the original post in July 2022.
Women’s economic empowerment is not a “women’s issue” – it affects everyone. Evidence indicates that rates of poverty reduction and economic growth drop when women in low-income countries are excluded from the formal economy.
These are four barriers that limit women’s economic empowerment:
1. Breaking the Resource Barrier: A Pillar of Women’s Economic Empowerment
Around the world, women are significantly less likely than men to have access to productive resources such as land, finance, and information.
- Only 73% of women in low- and middle-income countries have access to a formal bank account, compared to 74% of men.
- Globally, women are paid about 23% less than men.
- Women account for less than 15% of landholders worldwide, leaving the majority without access to an immensely important economic asset.
What we’re doing: In Mozambique, TechnoServe’s project helped women entrepreneurs greatly expand their access to finance by working with local financial institutions such as M-Pesa and AfricaWorks. M-Pesa increased its user base from 10,000 to 110,000 customers, 46% of whom were women. Across the financial service provider partnerships, 4,136 customers (62% women) also reported that improved access to financial services gave them more time to focus on their businesses, their families, and other priorities.
2. Challenging Social Norms for Inclusive Economies
Discrimination presents an entrenched barrier to women’s economic empowerment. Coupled with restrictive societal norms, women are often relegated to informal, vulnerable, and low-wage employment.
- Harassment at work costs the global economy an estimated $6 trillion every year.
- Globally, 2.7 billion women are restricted from having the same employment choices as men.
On occasion, these socially enforced restrictions are codified. According to the World Bank’s most recent report, women have only two-thirds the rights of men, and even those laws are enforced only halfway. That means in practice, women may have access to just a fraction of the legal protections that should be available to them.The findings are stark for women entrepreneurs and business owners in particular. In 91 of the 190 economies examined, laws don’t prohibit discrimination against women in access to credit — directly undermining their ability to start, grow, and scale businesses. At the same time, less than one-third of the policies needed to provide affordable, quality childcare are in place globally, forcing many women to choose between work and family.
What we’re doing: In Peru, TechnoServe’s outreach to 1,300 women in coffee farming communities has changed attitudes and behavior. As a result of our women’s economic empowerment programs, women hold 59% of leadership positions in coffee producer organizations, with 88% of those trained in leadership reporting greater decision-making power at both farm and household levels. As women find their voices and embrace new roles in their communities, they are shaping a new future of possibilities for themselves and the next generation.
3. Addressing Unpaid Care Work to Drive Economic Growth
Around the world, women shoulder a disproportionate higher responsibility for domestic work and unpaid care—tasks that are essential to the functioning of the economy.
- Women and girls spend 2.5 more hours a day on unpaid domestic and care work compared to men.
- Unpaid care work prevents an estimated 708 million women from joining the labour market.
- The value of women’s unpaid care and domestic work is estimated to be as high as 6.6% of the global GDP.
This unequal divide in domestic labor is perpetuated by laws restricting what work women can do outside of the home, as well as by social expectations. For example, qualitative studies from East Africa found that, while attitudes towards “women’s work” were changing somewhat, criticism of the perceived quality of working women’s domestic skills persisted, and the idea that undertaking domestic responsibilities made men “unmanly” remained common.
What we’re doing: In El Salvador, TechnoServe supports small business owners like Celina Alvarado, who recognized the plight that women like her face: “As a mom, you usually don’t have help around…you have to figure out things about your kids, your husband, your friends, your mom, or your sisters. So I was like, where can I get this help? It doesn’t exist. Who can I reach? Who can I contact?” With the skills, connections and confidence she gained, Celina’s catering business is building a better life for herself and the community of mothers around her. She started Auténtico Catering to “help them heal in some kind of way, to find a purpose, to find that they are able to do things that they never knew that they could do.”
4. Safety and Economic Justice: Ending Workplace Violence
Fear of experiencing violence (physical, sexual, and psychological) in the workplace is yet another factor constraining women’s economic opportunities.
- Millions of women workers around the world are subjected to intimidating, hostile, or humiliating work environments where they experience many different forms of unwelcome sexual conduct.
- Women are subjected to more sexual violence and harassment at work, 8.2% compared to 5.0 % of men.
Though sexual harassment at work is a widespread and relatively well-known issue, many women are unable to report this behavior. They fear social or professional retaliation, civil or criminal consequences, or backlash, loss of immigration status, and fear of being disbelieved or blamed for their own experiences.
What we’re doing: TechnoServe and the Ford Foundation studied the relationship between violence and women’s economic empowerment in Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal to provide recommendations to create safer working conditions for women entrepreneurs and workers. Our research showed that women’s social standing at home and in their communities improves alongside their economic participation, with stronger agency, resilience, and decision-making power. More than half of women in the study reported making spending decisions independently, while fewer than 10% said their spouse made those decisions alone. But these gains come with real risks. Greater economic power can also increase women’s exposure to gender-based violence, with factors like education, religion, and cultural norms shaping how that risk plays out. This complexity underscored the need for projects that are intersectional, needs-based, and responsive to the specific contexts women live in.
FAQs
What’s on your mind?
What is women’s economic empowerment?
According to UN Women, women’s economic empowerment means ensuring women can equally participate in and benefit from decent work and social protection; access markets and have control over resources, their own time, lives, and bodies; and increased voice, agency, and meaningful participation in economic decision-making at all levels from the household to international institutions.
What are the pillars of women’s economic empowerment?
Inspired by the Pro-WEAI (the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index), TechnoServe designs its women’s economic empowerment approaches across the dimensions of power within (building confidence), power to (acting on decisions), and power with (collective action). This framework supports all interventions, ensuring that women’s empowerment is a goal in and of itself and a catalyst for stronger, more inclusive agricultural systems.
How does women’s economic empowerment affect the global economy?
Women’s economic empowerment is a powerful economic driver. Evidence shows that when women are excluded from formal economies, rates of economic growth suffer. Conversely, closing the gap between women and men could add trillions of dollars to the global GDP.
What role do women play in economic development?
Women are essential contributors as entrepreneurs, employees, and farmers. When women gain economic empowerment, the effects spread across families and communities. Research indicates that women invest more of their income on family needs such as food, medical care, and schooling, improving opportunities for the next generation. Women in leadership positions, such as entrepreneurs, farmer trainers, or cooperative leaders, also help break down harmful norms and stereotypes in their communities, while serving as important role models for girls and other women.
Learn more about how TechnoServe is helping hardworking women around the world to overcome these barriers and improve their lives.
