[Answered] For women’s empowerment to prove substantive from an economic point of view, what matters are not just avenues of income defined by job opportunities, but also control over assets. Discuss

Women’s equal access to and control over assets is critical for the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of women and for equitable and sustainable economic growth and development. Gender equality in the distribution of economic and financial resources has positive multiplier effects for a range of key development goals, including poverty reduction and the welfare of children.

How property and assets support women’s economic empowerment?

• Equal property rights are associated with increased workforce participation and higher earnings for women.
• Legal ownership of land can make all the difference between poverty and the ability to escape it.
• Women’s land rights can improve agricultural productivity and encourage use of sustainable agricultural practices.
• Women who own property and assets are more likely to participate in economic household decisions.
• Attention to the resource challenges women face in agriculture is essential for addressing the food and energy crises and climate change in both the short and long term.
• The exercise of women’s right to land ownership results in decreasing violence in both the domestic and public spheres.  It also resulted in greater self-esteem for the women.

What can be done?

• Land reform processes, such as land-titling projects and resettlement schemes, can play an important role in addressing inequalities in access to land and property.
• Government should invest in reliable data from where it can collect all the required information like how many and which women own land; which laws facilitate women’s ownership; how women use the land to their advantage and what barriers they face in using land and others. This precise data will help the government to close the gender gap in land ownership.
• It can be influenced by the awareness of the people about the legal provisions for inheritance and the implementation of inheritance rights.
• The efforts of all stakeholders are required for implementing the law successfully.

The inequality of women and girls across the globe is closely linked to their assetless position and their economic dependence on men and their households. Therefore, changing the norms and social rules that uphold the sole right of men to own assets is important.