Determinants of Control over Usage of Women’s Cash Earnings in the Households of Rural Areas: A Case of Wanging’ombe District Council in Tanzania

Abstract

The study was conducted in the Wanging’ombe district council in the Njombe region, Southern highlands of Tanzania. The objective of the study was to assess the determinants of women’s control over their earnings. The study employed a cross-section research design. Data were collected from 150 women who engaged in various economic activities. The structured interview method was used to collect data using a structured questionnaire. Data were processed and analysed using IBM SPSS statistics version 20 and Stata version 11. The analysis involved descriptive analysis in exploring the characteristics of women in the study area, a chi-square test for association, and a binary logistic regression to explore the predictors. The results revealed that more than half (54.7%) of women reported that their husbands/partners decide for them on the use of money earned. Three factors, namely ownership of the house, kind of earning activity (source of income), and amounts of money earned per month are predictors of the control over women’s cash earnings in the household. The study concluded that, although husbands have less chance to decide on income earned by women who engage in economic activities other than farming and those who earn a higher income, household resources including women’s earnings are controlled by husbands to a large extent. The local government authorities in Wanging’ombe and non-government organisations interested in women’s empowerment should intensify efforts to address violence against women, especially economic abuse. This will enable women to engage in different economic activities and be employed in informal and formal sectors