Gender Incubator India: Pilot testing measures of women’s economic empowerment at scale

To fill gaps in the measurement of gender equality and empowerment (GEE), a collaborative network of cross-national partners including the Center on Gender Equity and Health, University of California, San Diego in the United States and the International Institute for Population Sciences in India were selected as Gender Measure Incubators for in-country based development and testing of GEE measures at scale for use in cross-national surveys.<br>The tested items include measures of social norms, women’s agency (women’s choice, self-efficacy, and actions) and backlash (negative responses to agency) related to:1. Women’s entrepreneurship, including issues related to bank loan acquisition, property ownership, and management roles;2. Women’s employment, including issues related to jobs versus careers for pay, advancement and positioning, wages and wage negotiations, management, and involvement in strategic planning and vision setting;3. Digital engagement, including women and girls’ digital capacities, cyber harassment/abuse, access (control over/level), and use/control over, for financial inclusion, education, and training, as well as more generally;4. Community and political leadership and agency, including community organizing, community voice, safety/sanctions in leadership<br>These measures were tested via in-person survey data collection via a household survey in three states in India (Bihar, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh) in 2022.