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Resource library: Economic empowerment

Economic empowerment icon

Welcome to our comprehensive resource collection dedicated to economic empowerment.

Here, you'll find a wide range of resources designed to support organisations in creating, implementing, and monitoring the impact of inclusive economic empowerment activities.

Economic empowerment is all about enabling individuals to exercise their right to earn income and have control over their financial resources. These activities can include providing access to education and skills development, employment programs, financial management training, or resources to start and grow businesses or livelihood activities. Additionally, economic empowerment involves addressing barriers that lead to unequal access to jobs, livelihood opportunities, and financial resources. This includes tackling systems that perpetuate low-income and insecure jobs for women, fail to recognise unpaid care work, or hinder certain groups from accessing employment opportunities.

Ensuring economic empowerment for all groups is crucial for achieving gender equality and promoting social inclusion. It not only improves access to essential services but also plays a significant role in breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty and exclusion. Furthermore, economic empowerment contributes to broader economic growth and equality within society. 

Displaying 22 - 42 of 65 resources
Published: - Evidence digest, Fact sheet 
This fact sheet provides a short overview of why social protection is a powerful tool for advancing gender equality and empowering women and girls. It highlights how the system can prevent and protect people from poverty, vulnerability and social…
Published: - Fact sheet , Policy paper
In many lower-income countries, women lag men in phone ownership and usage for a variety of economic and normative reasons. This resource investigates two approaches that close the digital gender gaps. The first approach is a statewide programme…
Published: - Guidance document
This resource from the Work and Opportunities for Women helpdesk (WOW helpdesk) is written for multinational businesses operating in low and middle-income countries that are working to decarbonise. It is designed for businesses that rely on…
Published: - Report
This resource is a think piece from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Girls’ Education Challenge. It looks at why the most marginalised must be prioritised in global efforts to ensure foundational learning for all…
Published: - Report
This report from the Work and Opportunities for Women helpdesk (WOW helpdesk) examines the intersections between gender equality, women’s economic empowerment and food security. It explores the following areas:links between gender equality, women’s…
Published: - Report
This resource from the Work and Opportunities for Women helpdesk (WOW helpdesk) focuses on evidence around the drivers of transformation of women’s economic empowerment. It looks at how women are impacted by social norms, law, unpaid care and other…
Published: - Guidance document
This resource looks at existing solutions aiming to advance gender equality in Nigeria and provides examples of policy options which can ease the constraints facing Nigerian women and girls.It focuses on the following areas:economic inclusionaccess…
Published: - Policy paper
This resource highlights how children in poverty across low- and middle-income countries are the most affected by climate change, impacting their health, education, nutrition, and living conditions. The Young Lives evidence shows that these impacts…
Published: - Evidence digest, Policy paper
This policy note explores the barriers women entrepreneurs face in scaling their businesses and presents evidence-based findings on effective strategies to support women-led firms. Lessons from the Africa and East Asia Pacific Gender Innovation Labs…
Published: - Policy paper
This policy paper presents findings from Young Lives research on skills development and the gender employment gap across four study countries. It highlights key barriers to women’s participation in the workforce and provides policy recommendations…
Published: - Lessons from a programme, Policy paper
This policy paper provides top policy lessons on empowering adolescent girls. With overlapping crises such as climate change, the ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, regional conflicts and rising global food insecurity, adolescent girls are…
Published: - Policy paper
This policy brief examines the impact of flexible work arrangements on female labour force participation and gender norms in West Bengal, India. Through a field experiment with 1,670 households, the study finds that job flexibility significantly…
Published: - Graphic resource, Multimedia
This infographic has been developed to support those working on designing and delivering social protection activities by highlighting the key issues relating to gender equality and social inclusion and why it’s important for social protection policy…
Published: - Evidence digest
This resource from the Disability Inclusion Helpdesk (DI HD) outlines the barriers to political participation and leadership experienced by people with disabilities. It presents the latest evidence and guidance on the right to vote, inclusive…
Published: - Guidance document
This resource provides guidance on how companies can consider gender equality and social inclusion in the clean energy business. This guide is aimed at the companies who want to make sure their operations are inclusive. It provides step-by-step…
Published: - Policy paper
This policy paper presents key lessons on closing the gender productivity gaps in agriculture, drawn from impact evaluations. The research shows that when women manage cash crop plots and have equal access to agricultural inputs and resources, they…
Published: - Evidence/literature review, Policy paper
This policy note examines the impact of gender-based violence (GBV) and presents evidence-based findings across three regions. It highlights the social and economic costs of violence against women and girls and explores the surge in gender-based…
Published: - Evidence/literature review
This resource from the Work and Opportunities for Women helpdesk (WOW helpdesk) looks at how different international financial institutions (IFIs) frame and approach working on women’s economic empowerment, and the impact of this in practice. It…
Published: - Multimedia, Video
These two videos from the Knowledge for Development and Diplomacy (K4DD)  explain how the local and international actors consider gender in their tax work and why is it important to do so. The videos include examples from the UK Government’s Foreign…
Published: - Tools and templates
This resource shows employers how to make their workplaces inclusive of people with intellectual disabilities. It includes clear guidance on accessible recruitment, hiring, communication at work, and organisational policies. It provides templates…
Published: - Tools and templates
This resource pack from the Knowledge, Evidence and Learning for Development (K4D) programme explains how tax policy, administration and research can promote women’s equality and empowerment through being ‘gender aware’.  The resource…