Assessing the cognitive validity of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index instrument in the Haiti Multi-Sectoral Baseline Survey

Abstract

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) measures the empowerment, agency, and inclusion of women in the agriculture sector, where they contribute to more than 50% of the world’s total food production (FAO 1996). The index will be used for performance monitoring and impact evaluations of USAID’s Feed the Future (FTF) program, an investment of USD$3.5 billion in global food security. This multidimensional indicator, which encompasses measures of the roles and extent of women’s engagement in the agriculture sector in five domains, is an innovation in the field. As such, lessons are still being learned regarding collection of the data needed to inform the indicator. Our study evaluates the cognitive validity of questions used in the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) using cognitive interview data collected during the fielding of the 2012 Haiti Multi-Sectoral Baseline Survey. Our findings indicate that overall, the questions on the WEAI were generally well-understood. However, our analysis of data from the cognitive assessment allowed us to discern areas of particular concern in terms of the ability of the WEAI questions to elicit valid responses from survey participants. Specific approaches to addressing difficulties include avoiding the use of jargon and overly formal language, standardizing questions, and incorporating cognitive testing to ensure a valid and locally relevant instrument. Our analyses contribute to the enhancement of this very important measure.