Content Validity of the Abbreviated Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A‐WEAI) in Ethiopia: A Mixed Methods Approach

Abstract

The conceptual pathway between agriculture and nutrition through the vehicle of women's empowerment has garnered much attention as a means to reducing global malnutrition. Until recently, understanding this complex pathway was particularly challenging given that there was no widely accepted approach to measuring women's empowerment. In 2012, Feed the Future launched the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), which measures the empowerment, inclusion and agency of women within the agricultural sector. This research study assessed the internal validity of the Abbreviated Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A‐WEAI), a second iteration of the WEAI, within the context of Ethiopian smallholder farming households. Through three phases of data collection, this study identified salient aspects of Ethiopian culture and social gender norms that influence the reliability and internal validity of the A‐WEAI as an indicator of Ethiopian women's empowerment. The first phase entailed 24 focus groups, which collected qualitative data on Ethiopian agricultural households' gender norms and understanding of the term ‘women's empowerment’. Within the second phase, 300 households responded to the quantitative A‐WEAI survey. These results were used to test content validity through principal component analysis and internal reliability through Cronbach's alpha. The last phase of data collection further assessed content validity through an expert panel survey that was used to construct a Content Validity Index (CVI). Results indicate that there are distinct Ethiopian gender norms in relation to agricultural engagement. Women most commonly defined ‘empowerment’ to mean ‘decision‐making’ and cited relationships to others (spouses, children, extended family, etc) as a strong influence on perceived levels of empowerment. To the best of our knowledge, neither the WEAI nor A‐WEAI has been assessed for content validity in any setting. Results from this study hold great significance as they contribute to understanding, for the first time, the content validity of the scale in general. This study also provides insights into the A‐WEAI's functioning in Ethiopia. Future research is needed to identify specific appropriate changes to the A‐WEAI such that women's empowerment is measured in an accurate, valid (both internally and externally) and reliable manner and thus useful in guiding policy.Support or Funding InformationThis research work was made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Agreement No. AID‐663‐A‐11‐000‐17. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the researcher & do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.