© Gates Archive I Mansi Midha I Zareen and Beauty Kumari in conversation with Youth Leaders. Zareen has been a mentor to Beauty and they are a part of the Youth Insight event hosted by The YP Foundation (TYPF) in New Delhi, India I 2018

LEADERSHIP

Leadership can be a powerful expression of agency when women and girls lead and inspire social change and effectively participate in governance to improve the status of other women and girls as well as themselves. Women’s increased participation in leadership is positively associated with a multitude of benefits for society as a whole.

TIPS FOR MEASURING LEADERSHIP AND COLLECTIVE ACTION

  1. Use quantitative and qualitative measures to capture the strength of women and girls’ organizing and mobilizing; include both membership in groups, and the influence and achievements of collective action and mobilizing.
  2. Include measures that capture the extent to which women and girls experience substantive and transformative leadership, rather than just their presence
  3. Use participatory methods to capture those areas and decision-making bodies that matter for women and girls’ lives, or those spheres that are male dominated and in which women and girls’ leadership is unconventional

Illustrative Indicators

Financial Services for the poor

OUTCOMES

<p>1.2. Increased representation of women in microfinance self-help groups</p>

INDICATORS

1.2.1. % of microfinance self-help groups led by women

Consider looking at which women are becoming leaders, in terms of other demographic measures, to gain an understanding of intersectionality. It will be easier for women who are already in higher positions of power in their communities to become leaders. To understand the empowerment of different groups of women, it is important to track whether women from ethnic minorities, women with disabilities, or women from a lower class or caste are also reaching positions of leadership.

It is also important to consider the level of influence and substantive contributions of women rather than just the number of women in leadership positions. For example, not only are women part of the local council, but are they actively participating and do they feel that their voice is being heard?

1.2.2. % of female membership of self-help groups

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE

OUTCOMES

<p>2.2. Increased participation of women in governance related to sanitation programs and initiatives</p>

INDICATORS

2.2.1. # of women, in senior (director and above) positions in the relevant decision making body (municipal government, utility) directly involved in the design and implementation of sanitation programs and initiatives

This also reflects Tip #3 being a male dominated area where women's leadership is unconventional.

PROXY MEASURES VERSUS DIRECT MEASURES - WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

The most common direct measure of agency is decision-making. Common proxy indicators include education, employment or individual control over assets. Although they are more focused, direct measures often require more questions in a survey to capture a full picture of agency. Proxy measures may be simpler and cheaper to implement, but they do not necessarily give a full picture of reality. For example, the proxy measure education would not tell you whether a woman’s level of education causes or is caused by greater empowerment among women. In some studies, proxy indicators are categorized as resources, and so are used in addition to the direct measure of decision-making (one component of agency) to capture a more accurate picture of agency in that setting.

DIMENSIONS OF AGENCY

Explore the other dimensions relating to agency via the links below.