Employment effect of large-scale agricultural investment on women empowerment in Gambella Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

PurposeDespite intense debates about the outcomes of large-scale agricultural investment in developing countries, gender issues and employment effects of such investment on women empowerment are very thin in the literature. The main purpose of this article is, therefore, to examine the effect of women's access to income-earning jobs on their empowerment.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a quasi-experimental research design and a mixed research approach. The authors collected primary data from 65 employed and 85 unemployed women and ten key informants. Principal component analysis (PCA) and propensity score matching (PSM) techniques were used to construct indexes and assess employment effect.FindingsThe article finds that consistent with the argument of the resource in culture theory, women's employment in large-scale commercial farms does not have an effect on their empowerment level.Practical implicationsThe result implies that the government should strengthen gender sensitization programs and facilitate the formation of well-organized and profitable alternative income generating activities for women in such ways that improve their empowerment.Originality/valueThis article assesses the effect of women employment on their empowerment and contributes to filling gaps in the empirical and theoretical literature. It could also contribute to academic and policy debates in the area of large-scale commercial farming based on the actual evidence.