Geographic variation in women’s empowerment
A multilevel analysis of India’s National Family Health Survey 2021
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19550870 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yun-Jung Eom (0000-0002-1654-6791, Korea University), V Subramanian (0000-0003-2365-4165, Harvard University), Rockli Kim (0000-0002-9864-3957, Korea University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Pages | 04159-04159 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-27 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Global Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2047-2978 • E-ISSN: 2047-2986 |
| Publisher | International Society of Global Health (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.7189/jogh.15.04159 |
| PMID | 40576126 |
| OpenAlex | W4411711429 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 50 |
Background: Women's empowerment is vital for sustainable development, yet gender inequality persists across India's sociocultural and geographic landscape. Most initiatives in India focus on state- and district-level frameworks, failing to address the localised challenges at smaller geographic levels. Methods: This study quantified and visualised community variation in women's empowerment using the fifth National Family Health Survey (2019-2021). Women's empowerment was assessed across three domains - attitudes toward violence, social independence, and decision-making - using the globally validated Survey-based Women's emPowERment index (SWPER). Four-level logistic regression models were used to partition the geographic variation in women's empowerment into state, district, and community levels, and produce precision-weighted estimates. Results: The final sample included 76 683 women, 9104 communities, 720 districts, and 36 states across India. Communities contributed most to the total geographic variation in attitude to violence (47.1%) and decision-making (69.6%), while states were the largest contributors in social independence (57.7%). Geographically, under-empowered communities were concentrated in the south for attitude to violence; in the north for social independence; and widely dispersed for decision-making. Conclusions: Strategies to improve women's empowerment in India should span across multiple geographic units while integrating domain-specific approaches to facilitate meaningful and sustainable progress
Empowerment · Environmental health · Family health · Geography · MEDLINE · Multilevel model · Political science · Sociology · Statistics · Demography · Global Maternal and Child Health · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Medicine · Nursing · Social and Economic Development in India
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| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |