Incomes, employment and gender roles: understanding women's intrahousehold decision-making participation in Nicaragua
Purpose – This paper explores the relationship between married women's intrahousehold decision-making participation and marital gender roles, next to factors suggested in the household bargaining literature. Additionally, the authors investigate whether women's employment carries the same...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Emerald Publishing
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Fulbright Review of Economics and Policy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/FREP-11-2021-0073/full/pdf |
| _version_ | 1827749971721453568 |
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| author | Roxana Gómez-Valle Nathalie Holvoet |
| author_facet | Roxana Gómez-Valle Nathalie Holvoet |
| author_sort | Roxana Gómez-Valle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose – This paper explores the relationship between married women's intrahousehold decision-making participation and marital gender roles, next to factors suggested in the household bargaining literature. Additionally, the authors investigate whether women's employment carries the same importance for decision-making participation as contributions to household incomes. Design/methodology/approach – Using 2011/2012 Nicaraguan Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), the authors estimate multinomial logistic regressions for eight decision-making domains, analyzing three levels of decision-making: wife-dominant or sole decisions, joint decision-making (with the partner) and decision-making by someone else. The authors create an additive index for measuring internalized marital gender roles. Findings – Women's intrahousehold decision-making participation is explained differently depending on the decision-making area and level of participation. Women with a better relative position vis-à-vis partners and not following patriarchal gender roles are more likely to make decisions jointly with their partners, but not alone. Women's age and educational level are the strongest predictors in the analysis. Women's employment reduces their decision-making participation in children's disciplining and daily cooking-related decisions. Research limitations/implications – It focuses on married women only, while marital status might be a determinant of decision-making itself and left out the contribution of unearned incomes. Practical implications – Interventions aimed at increasing women's intrahousehold decision-making participation should not only focus on economic endowments but also comprehend the gendered dynamics governing intrahousehold allocation. Originality/value – The study incorporates quantitative measures of marital gender roles in the study of intrahousehold decision-making. It also contributes to the literature with insights from contexts where women's involvement in employment increased against a background of patriarchal gender roles. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:36:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8b4bbb8130fd4e49a3407389b2bc6704 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2635-0173 2635-0181 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:36:01Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Emerald Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fulbright Review of Economics and Policy |
| spelling | doaj.art-8b4bbb8130fd4e49a3407389b2bc67042023-11-17T10:53:47ZengEmerald PublishingFulbright Review of Economics and Policy2635-01732635-01812022-08-0121619110.1108/FREP-11-2021-0073Incomes, employment and gender roles: understanding women's intrahousehold decision-making participation in NicaraguaRoxana Gómez-Valle0Nathalie Holvoet1Institute of Development Policy, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, BelgiumInstitute of Development Policy, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, BelgiumPurpose – This paper explores the relationship between married women's intrahousehold decision-making participation and marital gender roles, next to factors suggested in the household bargaining literature. Additionally, the authors investigate whether women's employment carries the same importance for decision-making participation as contributions to household incomes. Design/methodology/approach – Using 2011/2012 Nicaraguan Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), the authors estimate multinomial logistic regressions for eight decision-making domains, analyzing three levels of decision-making: wife-dominant or sole decisions, joint decision-making (with the partner) and decision-making by someone else. The authors create an additive index for measuring internalized marital gender roles. Findings – Women's intrahousehold decision-making participation is explained differently depending on the decision-making area and level of participation. Women with a better relative position vis-à-vis partners and not following patriarchal gender roles are more likely to make decisions jointly with their partners, but not alone. Women's age and educational level are the strongest predictors in the analysis. Women's employment reduces their decision-making participation in children's disciplining and daily cooking-related decisions. Research limitations/implications – It focuses on married women only, while marital status might be a determinant of decision-making itself and left out the contribution of unearned incomes. Practical implications – Interventions aimed at increasing women's intrahousehold decision-making participation should not only focus on economic endowments but also comprehend the gendered dynamics governing intrahousehold allocation. Originality/value – The study incorporates quantitative measures of marital gender roles in the study of intrahousehold decision-making. It also contributes to the literature with insights from contexts where women's involvement in employment increased against a background of patriarchal gender roles.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/FREP-11-2021-0073/full/pdfWomenDecision-makingNicaraguaBargaining modelsGender rolesIncomes |
| spellingShingle | Roxana Gómez-Valle Nathalie Holvoet Incomes, employment and gender roles: understanding women's intrahousehold decision-making participation in Nicaragua Fulbright Review of Economics and Policy Women Decision-making Nicaragua Bargaining models Gender roles Incomes |
| title | Incomes, employment and gender roles: understanding women's intrahousehold decision-making participation in Nicaragua |
| title_full | Incomes, employment and gender roles: understanding women's intrahousehold decision-making participation in Nicaragua |
| title_fullStr | Incomes, employment and gender roles: understanding women's intrahousehold decision-making participation in Nicaragua |
| title_full_unstemmed | Incomes, employment and gender roles: understanding women's intrahousehold decision-making participation in Nicaragua |
| title_short | Incomes, employment and gender roles: understanding women's intrahousehold decision-making participation in Nicaragua |
| title_sort | incomes employment and gender roles understanding women s intrahousehold decision making participation in nicaragua |
| topic | Women Decision-making Nicaragua Bargaining models Gender roles Incomes |
| url | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/FREP-11-2021-0073/full/pdf |
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