Empowerment in water, sanitation and hygiene index

Authors: Sarah Dickin, Elijah Bisung, Juste Nansi, Katrina Charles

The Empowerment in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Index (EWI) is a novel survey-based index designed to measure agency, participation and empowerment in the water and sanitation sector. The EWI can be used to assess gender outcomes of a WASH intervention and to monitor changes over time. Drawing on a multi-level conceptualization of empowerment, the EWI is comprised of a suite of indicators at individual, household, and societal levels. The EWI uses responses collected from a male and female respondent at the same household, and represents the proportion of women and men who are empowered, as well as the level of empowerment. We report the methodological approach and data from this pilot study in Burkina Faso.

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