Impact of Women Empowerment on Household Wellbeing in Kenya

Abstract

Kenya has been investing in women empowerment over the last few decades in a bid to enjoy the resultant benefits as documented in past research. A majority of women empowerment initiatives are focused on easing the access to financial and educational support for women in the country, which are believed to be key areas where women are most vulnerable. Unfortunately, little empirical effort has been directed towards examining how these initiatives have affected the livelihood of not only the targeted women but also the households that directly benefit from the women. This study sought to explore the impact of women empowerment on household wellbeing in Kenya. This aim was supplemented with three specific objectives, which include exploring the accessibility of women empowerment to the target population in Kenya; to determine the level of participation of women in the empowerment initiatives in Kenya and to assess the effects of women empowerment on household wellbeing in Kenya. The study was guided by a longitudinal research design and a quantitative research methodology. It was conducted using published data that was sourced from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and organizations specializing in women empowerment such as the USAID and UNDP. The data was then analyzed using different statistical tools including descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. It was observed that a unit increase in average income among women increases household consumption by 3.5 percent. A unit increase in enrolment of women to tertiary education increases household expenditure by 22.1 percent units. Lastly, a unit increase in the investment made towards women empowerment activities increases household expenditure by 3.32percent,. These independent variables could explain up to 73.00 percent of the changes in household welfare based on the adjusted coefficient of determination. The study recommends to policy makers to consider women empowerment as an avenue for boosting the economy and clarifying the objectives of any women empowerment program.