[en] The relations between women's empowerment (WE) and poverty reduction have been extensively discussed in the developing world against the backdrop of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This article quantitatively analyses the effect of WE on household poverty and the mediation role of women's non-farm participation through which WE affects household poverty, using the surveyed data of 1239 rural households in Western China in 2021. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is conducted using Stata software, with WE specified as a latent variable. The results indicate that WE has significantly reduced household poverty in Western China. Specifically, empowering women has significantly increased women's non-farm participation; women's non-farm participation has significantly contributed to household poverty reduction as well. Additionally, the study highlights a significant mediation effect of women's participation in non-farm activities in the relationship between WE and household poverty. Policy implications emphasize the importance of expanding public services and providing tailored educational and vocational training programs for women, as well as fostering a gender-responsive environment that is favourable for women to fully release their potential through non-farm participation. These strategies are essential for enhancing women's participation in non-farm activities and further reducing household poverty through WE.
Precision for document type :
Review article
Disciplines :
Social economics
Author, co-author :
Wang, Jing ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre ; Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Gu, Rui; Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Nie, Fengying; Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Dogot, Thomas ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Modélisation et développement
Language :
English
Title :
The Effect of Women's Empowerment on Poverty Reduction: Mediating Role of Non-Farm Participation
Adekunle, C. P., A. A. Kutu, and D. A. Alori. 2021. “Socioeconomic Determinants of Women's Empowerment: A Case of Farm Households in Abeokuta, Ogun State.” Eurasian Journal of Economics and Finance 9, no. 2: 67–78.
Ajala, T. 2017. “Gender Discrimination in Land Ownership and the Alleviation of Women's Poverty in Nigeria: A Call for New Equities.” International Journal of Discrimination and the Law 17, no. 1: 51–66.
Alhija, F. A. N. 2010. “Factor Analysis: An Overview and Some Contemporary Advances.” In International Encyclopedia of Education, edited by P. Peterson, E. Baker, and B. McGaw. 3rd ed., 162–170. Elsevier.
Ali, A., O. Erenstein, and D. B. Rahut. 2015. “Impact of Gender Participation in Non-Farming Activities on Household Income and Poverty Levels in Pakistan.” Work (Reading, Mass.) 52, no. 2: 345–351.
Alkire, S., R. Meinzen-Dick, A. Peterman, A. Quisumbing, G. Seymour, and A Vaz. 2013. “The Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index.” World Development (Oxford) 52: 71–91.
Anderson, C. L., W. T. Reynolds, P. Biscaye, V. Patwardhan, and C. Schmidt. 2021. “Economic Benefits of Empowering Women in Agriculture: Assumptions and Evidence.” Journal of Development Studies 57, no. 2: 193–208.
Angko, W. 2013. “Microfinance and Poverty Reduction Nexus Among Rural Women in Selected Districts in the Upper West Region of Ghana.” Developing Country Studies 3, no. 9: 128–141.
Assaad, R. A., H. Nazier, and R. Ramadan. 2014. “Individual and Households Determinants of Women Empowerment: Application to the Case of Egypt.” Working Paper 867. Economic Research Forum, November 1.
Bamberger, M., M. Blackden, L. Fort, and V. Manoukian. 2002. “Chapter 10 Gender.” In A Sourcebook for Poverty Reduction Strategies, edited by J. Klugman, 333–374. The World Bank.
Bayu, E. K. 2021. “Determinants Variables for Women's Participation in Non-Agricultural Livelihood Diversification Strategies in Ethiopia: A Logistic Regression Model Analysis.” Journal of Poverty, Investment and Development 58, no. 1: 34–57.
Bilenkisi, F., M. S. Gungor, and G. Tapsin. 2015. ““The Impact of Household Heads” Education Levels on the Poverty Risk: The Evidence From Turkey.” Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice 15, no. 2: 337–348. https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2015.2.2354.
Boateng, G. O., V. Z. Kuuire, M. Ung, J. A. Amoyaw, F. A. Armah, and I. Luginaah. 2014. “Women's Empowerment in the Context of Millennium Development Goal 3: A Case Study of Married Women in Ghana.” Social Indicators Research 115, no. 1: 137–158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0212-8.
Calvès, A. E. 2009. “Empowerment: The History of a Key Concept in Contemporary Development Discourse.” Revue Tiers Monde 200, no. 4: 735–749.
Chant, S. 2016. “Women, Girls and World Poverty: Empowerment, Equality or Essentialism?” International Development Planning Review 38, no. 1: 1–24.
Cheng, F., H. Zhang, and N. S. Boniphace. 2019. “Determinants of Off-Farm Employment Participation of Women in Rural Uganda.” International Journal of World Policy and Development Studies 5, no. 4: 28–41.
China Women News. 2021. “Main Data of the Fourth National Survey on Women's Social Status in China.” China Women News, December 27. https://epaper.cnwomen.com.cn/html/2021-12/27/nw.D110000zgfnb_20211227_1-4.htm.
Ding, Y., X. Wang, A. de Brauw, and H. Qiu. 2024. “Catch up With My Husband as I Can: Women's Decision-Making Power Consequences of China's Poverty Alleviation Relocation Program.” World Development 173: 106433.
Dong, X. Y., J. Feng, and Y. Yu. 2017. “Relative Pay of Domestic Eldercare Workers in Shanghai, China.” Feminist Economics 23, no. 1: 135–159.
Dong, X. Y., and H. Wang. 2014. “Childcare Provisions and Women's Participation in Off-Farm Employment: Evidence From Low-Income Rural Areas.” Journal of Research in Gender Studies 4, no. 2: 260–272.
Dufera, W., A. Bedemo, and T. Kebede. 2023. “Factors Affecting Rural Women's Participation in Non-Farm Activity in Western Ethiopia: Empirical Evidence in Horo Guduru Wollega Zone.” Journal of Science, Technology and Arts Research 12, no. 3: 94–113.
Dzanku, F. M. 2019. “Food Security in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa: Exploring the Nexus Between Gender, Geography and Off-Farm Employment.” World Development 113: 26–43.
Efobi, U. R., I. Beecroft, and S. N. Atata. 2019. “Female Access and Rights to Land, and Rural Non-Farm Entrepreneurship in Four African Countries.” African Development Review 31, no. 2: 179–189.
FAO, IFAD, UN Women, and WFP. 2022. Making Markets and Value Chains Work for Rural Women: Experiences and Ways Forward From the Joint Program on Rural Women's Economic Empowerment, New York.
Gartaula, H. N., K. Atreya, A. Sapkota, P. Mukhopadhyay, D. Chadha, and R. Puskur. 2025. “A Systematic Review of Agricultural Projects' Contributions to Women's Empowerment.” Npj Sustainable Agriculture 3, no. 1: 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00061-5.
Grace, J. B. 2021. “Instrumental Variable Methods in Structural Equation Models.” Methods in Ecology and Evolution 12, no. 7: 1148–1157. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13600.
Gu, R., and F. Y. Nie. 2021. “Does empowering women benefit poverty reduction? Evidence from a multi-component program in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region of China.” Journal of Integral Agriculture 20, no. 1: 1092–1106. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2095-3119(20)63436-0.
Guo, X. 2024. “Exploring the Empowerment of Women in Family Decision-Making and Their Contribution to Family Economy in the New Era.” World Economic Research 13: 480–486. https://doi.org/10.12677/wer.2024.134054.
Gupta, S., V. Vemireddy, D. Singh, and P. Pingali. 2019. “Adapting the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index to Specific Country Context: Insights and Critiques From Fieldwork in India.” Global Food Security 23: 245–255.
Hameed, W., S. K. Azmat, M. Ali, et al. 2014. “Women's Empowerment and Contraceptive Use: The Role of Independent Versus Couples' Decision-Making, From a Lower Middle Income Country Perspective.” PLoS ONE 9, no. 8: e104633. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104633.
Hooper, D., J. Coughlan, and M. Mullen. 2008. “Structural Equation Modeling: Guidelines for Determining Model Fit.” Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods 6, no. 1: 53–60.
Huang, Q., X. Zheng, and R. Wang. 2022. “The Impact of the Accessibility of Transportation Infrastructure on the Non-Farm Employment Choices of Rural Laborers: Empirical Analysis Based on China's Micro Data.” Land 11: 1–15.
Huang, Y. F., J. L. Yuan, X. C. Kong, and X. B. Zhang. 2018. “Correlation Between the Women's Empowerment and Family Poverty in Rural Areas.” Agricultural Outlook 14, no. 1: 88–93.
Hwang, J., T. R. Paris, E. Cabrera, and Y. Choi. 2011. “A Comparative Study on Women's Role in Intrahousehold Decision-Making in Korean and the Philippine Rice Farming Households.” Journal of Rural Development (Seoul) 34: 117–136.
International Labor Organization. 1992. Law Safeguarding Women's Rights and Interests of the People's Republic of China. NATLEX. https://wwwex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=49690&cs=19_Z34MxNuMRb9RR7BorFVGWJs8Jzb4B5E5CfpQ3SP1Z6CpKSVXp_SzGSPg6oR-zetswJ_UFKmO_RVu58hMEZuw.
Islam, M. S., S. Islam, K. Fatema, and R. Khanum. 2022. “Rural Women Participation in Farm and Off-Farm Activities and Household Income in Bangladesh.” Heliyon 8, no. 9: e10618.
Kabeer, N. 1999. “Resources, Agency, Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of Women's Empowerment.” Development and Change 30, no. 3: 435–464.
Kimhi, A. 2011. “Can Female Non-Farm Labor Income Reduce Income Inequality? Evidence from Rural Southern Ethiopia.” In 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland. European Association of Agricultural Economists.
Kline, R. B. 2005. Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modelling. 2nd ed. The Guilford Press.
Li, M., Z. Zheng, J. Zheng, D. Yang, and T. Wang. 2023. “The Effect and Mechanism of Farmland Transfer on the Multidimensional Relative Poverty of Rural Women.” Frontiers in Environmental Science 11: 1276195. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1276195.
Lu, J. X., L. J. Wu, and X. Y. Li. 2020. “The Reconstruction of Rural Women's Spaces Through Poverty Alleviation Workshops: A Case Study From Henan Province.” Journal of Chinese Women's Studies 157, no. 1: 36–46.
Lumet, K., R. Gitau, and G. Owuor. 2022. “The Influence of Women's Empowerment on Poverty Reduction: A Case of Smallholder Sugarcane Farmers in Western Kenya.” African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 17, no. 3: 255–271.
Ma, W., X. Zhou, D. Boansi, G. S. A. Horlu, and V. Owusu. 2024. “Adoption and Intensity of Agricultural Mechanization and Their Impact on Non-Farm Employment of Rural Women.” World Development 173: 106434.
Mahmud, M., K. Otsuka, Y. Sawada, M. Tanaka, and T. Tanaka. 2017. “Women Empowerment in Bangladesh: Household Decisions Under Development of Non-Farm Sectors and Microfinance Institutions.” Working Paper no. 154. JICA Research Institute.
Maslak, M. A. 2011. “Education, Employment and Empowerment: The Case of a Young Woman in Northwestern China.” Research in Comparative and International Education 6, no. 1: 119–128. https://doi.org/10.2304/rcie.2011.6.1.119.
Meinzen-Dick, R., A. Quisumbing, C. Doss, and S. Theis. 2019. “Women's Land Rights as a Pathway to Poverty Reduction: Framework and Review of Available Evidence.” Agricultural Systems 172: 72–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2017.10.009.
Nadim, S. J., and A. D. Nurlukman. 2017. “The Impact of Women Empowerment on Poverty Reduction in Rural Area of Bangladesh: Focusing on Village Development Program.” Journal of Government and Civil Society 1, no. 2: 135–157.
Nahar, S., and C. W. Mengo. 2022. “Measuring Women's Empowerment in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review.” Journal of International Development 34, no. 2: 322–333. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3594.
Narain, S., S. Gupta, and S. Singh. 2015. “Status of Women Empowerment in Agriculture: A Reality of Bundelkhand Region of Uttar Pradesh.” Indian Research Journal of Extension Education 15, no. 4: 16–20.
National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China. 2022. Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests. National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China. https://en.npc.gov.cn.cdurl.cn/2022-10/30/c_891562.htm.
Neglo, K., T. Gebrekidan, and K. Lyu. 2021. “Determinants of Participation in Non-Farm Activities and Its Effect on Household Income: An Empirical Study in Ethiopia.” Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics 13, no. 1: 72–92. https://doi.org/10.5897/JDAE2020.1231.
Omirin, O. J., and C. Okpara. 2018. “Off-Farm Activities as Income Strategies Among Rural Women in Ido Local Government Area, Ibadan, Nigeria.” African Journal for the Psychological Studies of Social 21: 224–239.
Osondu, C. K. 2014. “Determinants of Decision for Non-Farm Entrepreneurship by Women Farmers in Ikwuano LGA, Abia State.” Agrosearch 14, no. 2: 154–167.
Oxfam. 2020. Time to Care: Unpaid and Underpaid Care Work and the Global Inequality Crisis. Oxfam Briefing Paper, Oxfam. https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/time-to-care-unpaid-and-underpaid-care-work-and-the-global-inequality-crisis-620928/.
Oyediran, K., and A. Odusola. 2004. “Poverty and the Dynamics of Women's Participation in Household Decision-Making in Nigeria.” African Population Studies 19 Supplement A: 115–139.
Phan, L. 2016. “Measuring Women's Empowerment at Household Level Using DHS Data of Four Southeast Asian Countries.” Social Indicators Research 126, no. 1: 359–378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-0876-y.
Priya, P., A. Venkatesh, and A. Shukla. 2021. “Two Decades of Theorising and Measuring Women's Empowerment: Literature Review and Future Research Agenda.” Women's Studies International Forum 87: 102495.
Quisumbing, A., J. Heckert, S. Faas, et al. 2021. “Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality in Agricultural Value Chains: Evidence From Four Countries in Asia and Africa.” Food Security 13: 1101–1124.
Ragsdale, K., M. R. Read-Wahidi, T. Wei, E. Martey, and P. Goldsmith. 2018. “Using the WEAI+ to Explore Gender Equity and Agricultural Empowerment: Baseline Evidence Among Men and Women Smallholder Farmers in Ghana's Northern Region.” Journal of Rural Studies 64: 123–134.
Rajkhowa, P., and M. Qaim. 2022. “Mobile Phones, Off-Farm Employment and Household Income in Rural India.” Journal of Agricultural Economics 73, no. 3: 789–805.
Ren, J., T. Gao, X. Shi, X. Chen, and K. Mu. 2023. “The Impact and Heterogeneity Analysis of Digital Financial Inclusion on Non-Farm Employment of Rural Labor.” Chinese Journal of Population, Resources and Environment 21, no. 2: 103–110.
Rigal, C., P. Vaast, and J. Xu. 2018. “Using Farmers' Local Knowledge of Tree Provision of Ecosystem Services to Strengthen the Emergence of Coffee-Agroforestry Landscapes in Southwest China.” PLoS ONE 13, no. 9: e0204046. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204046.
Sell, M., and N. Minot. 2018. “What Factors Explain Women's Empowerment? Decision-Making Among Small-Scale Farmers in Uganda.” Women's Studies International Forum 71: 46–55.
Seymour, G., and A. Peterman. 2018. “Context and Measurement: an Analysis of the Relationship Between Intrahousehold Decision Making and Autonomy.” World Development 111: 97–112.
Shen, X., Z. Wang, and S. Li. 2023. “Access to Piped Water and Off-Farm Work Participation: Evidence From Rural China.” Sustainability 15, no. 4: 3101.
Shuai, Y., C. Shuai, W. Li, and F. Huang. 2019. “Role of Women's Empowerment in Improving Farmer's Livelihood: Empirical Evidence From China.” Quality & Quantity 53, no. 2: 621–639. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-018-0778-6.
Smith, L. C., U. Ramakrishnan, A. Ndiaye, L. Haddad, and R. Martorell. 2003. “The Importance of Women's Status for Child Nutrition in Developing Countries.” (IFPRI) Research Report 131. International Food Policy Research Institute.
StataCorp. 2017. Stata Structural Equation Modeling Reference Manual: Release 15. A Press Publication.
Taye, T. T., and W. M. Tesfaye. 2024. “Time Poverty and Women's Participation in Non-Farm Work: Evidence From Rural Ethiopia.” Scientific African 26: e02343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2024.e02343.
Tong, Y., and Y. Gan. 2023. “The Expanding Search for Work: The Gender Gap in Livelihood Choices Among the Rural Chinese, From 1989 to 2015.” Rural Sociology 88, no. 3: 818–855. https://doi.org/10.1111/ruso.12503.
United Nations. 2015. Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda.
Wang, L., and J. Klugman. 2020. “How Women Have Fared in the Labour Market With China's Rise as a Global Economic Power.” Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies 7, no. 1: 43–64. https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.293.
Wang, L., and G. Shaw. 2013. “Coping With Rural Transformation and the Movement of Workers From Rural Areas to Cities: The People's Republic of China Sunshine Project.” In Skills Development for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth in Developing Asia-Pacific, edited by R. Maclean, S. Jagannathan, and J. Sarvi, 85–107. Springer.
Wang, W., and S. Zhang. 2022. “The Impact of Internet Use on Rural Women's Off-Farm Work Participation: Empirical Evidence From China.” Sustainability 14, no. 24: 16972.
Wang, X., L. Han, J. Huang, L. Zhang, and S. Rozelle. 2016. “Gender and Off-Farm Employment: Evidence From Rural China.” China & World Economy 24, no. 3: 18–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12156.
Wang, X., F. Yi, and C. Yang. 2024. “Promoting Employment, Supporting Intelligence First: The Impact of Digital Literacy on Non-Farm Employment of Rural Labor.” Applied Economics Letters 31, no. 19: 2020–2025.
Wang, Y., Y. Yao, and L. He. 2025. “How Does Digital Inclusive Finance Impact Women's Economic Development: Evidence From Chinese Household Finance Survey.” Chinese Journal of Population Science 39, no. 1: 23–39.
Wei, W., T. Sarker, W. Żukiewicz-Sobczak, et al. 2021. “The Influence of Women's Empowerment on Poverty Reduction in the Rural Areas of Bangladesh: Focus on Health, Education and Living Standard.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 13: 6909.
Widiyanti, E., P. Pudjihardjo, and P. M. A. Saputra. 2018. “Tackling Poverty Through Women Empowerment: The Role of Social Capital in Indonesian Women's Cooperative.” Jurnal Ekonomi Dan Studi Pembangunan 10, no. 1: 44–55.
Women of China. 2024. “Across China: Guaranteed Loans Empower Rural Women Entrepreneurs in Northwest China.” Women of China, August 2, viewed 10 October 2024. https://www.womenofchina.cn/womenofchina/html1/In-depth/Features/2408/128-1.htm.
Xiao, Y. L., and F. Y. Nie. 2010. A Report on the Status of China's Food Security. Beijing: China Agricultural Science and Technology Press.
Xu, H., C. Wang, J. Wu, Y. Liang, Y. Jiao, and S. Nazneen. 2018. “Human Poverty Alleviation Through Rural Women's Tourism Entrepreneurship.” Journal of China Tourism Research 14, no. 4: 445–460. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388160.2018.1507860.
Yu, H., and L. Cui. 2019. “China's E-Commerce: Empowering Rural Women?” China Quarterly 238: 418–437.
Zhu, X., X. Li, J. Gong, and J. Xu. 2022. “Technology Empowerment: A Path to Poverty Alleviation for Chinese Women From the Perspective of Development Communication.” Telecommunications Policy 46, no. 6: 102328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2022.102328.
Li, B. S. 2018. “Research on the Difference of Income-Based and Expenditure-Based Poverty Measurement.” World of Survey and Research 2018, no. 04: 61–65.
