Global Journal of Human Social Science, E: Economics, Volume 22 Issue 7

January 24, 2019; with the aim of providing current update on basic demographic and health indicators (Zambia Statistics Agency and Ministry of Health, 2019). Using two-stage stratified sample design, 545 clusters were selected across the country and 13,625 households were also selected through equal probability systematic sampling. The sample size for individual women was 13,683 but the data was stratified to select 8,170 rural women from the ten geopolitical zones. b) Measurement of Women Empowerment i. Women Empowerment Several authors have given different definitions of women empowerment. These definitions differ in terms of the context in which women empowerment is being used; being it economic, political or socio-cultural. For example, Kabeer (1999) describes women empowerment as a process where those (women) who were denied certain strategic choices are being given the ability to make those strategic decisions. Similarly, Veneklasen and Miller (2002) posits that women empowerment is the process where women’s power to take strategic decision is enhanced. In this study, women empowerment has been contextualized to mean agency and autonomy and it is viewed as a multi- dimensional process. ii. Measurement Realistic and good measurement serves as the bedrock for assessing women empowerment. However, researchers have adopted different measurements especially the scaling which makes comparison difficult (Lombardini, Bowman, & Garwood, 2017; Biswas, 2004). For example, Huis, Hansen, Otten and Lensink (2017) measured women empowerment from three dimensional levels, micro-level, meso-level and macro- level. Lombardini, Bowman, and Garwood, (2017) also adopted three by focusing on individual, relational and environmental levels. Some studies have also adopted four dimensions, economic, socio-cultural, education and health to measure women empowerment (Asaolu et al., 2018; Pratley, 2016; Jennings et al., 2014). To ensure standardization and comparison majority of studies (Oluwakemi & Amaka, 2020; Ayevbuonwan, Popoola & Adeoli, 2016; The Hunger Project, 2014; Alkire et al., 2013) have now adopted the multi-dimensional poverty index methodology developed by Alkire and Foster (2007; 2011). This study adopted the Alkire-Foster (2007) methodology. iii. Alkire-Foster Methodology This method involves two steps: Identification ( ) k p and aggregation methods. Whiles the identification method reveals who is empowered by considering the factors that leads to the empowerment, the aggregation method generates a set of disempowerment measures ( ) M α which can be disaggregated to target the most empowered. The aggregation method follows Foster Greer and Thorbecke (1984) traditional measures. From the above, let ( ) ij y y = with n d × matrix of achievement. Where n is the number of respondents and d is a measure for the number of dimensions; ( ) ij y y = shows the achievement of respondents 1, 2,... i n = in j dimensions of 1, 2,.... j d = . The list of respondent’s achievements and the distribution of respondent’s achievement across various respondents is represented by the row vector 1 2 ( ... ) i i i id y y y y = and column vector 1 2 ( ... ) j j j nj y y y y = respectively. Additionally, the cut off for disempowered respondents is represented by 0 j Z > in the j dimension and Z is the specific cut off dimension vector. Let V be the sum of all elements and ( ) V µ represent the mean of V . With a given level of achievement define by matrix y , it is possible to define matrix 0 [ 0] i j g g with element 0 i j g also defined by 0 1 i j g = only if i j y Z < and 0 0 i j g = . This implies that 0 0 i j g = is a n d × matrix with an ij th matrix 1 = when respondent is empowered and for 0 otherwise. From the aforementioned the column vector c for empowerment count can be constructed with i th entry as 0 i c g = . This expression represent the level of empowerment enjoyed by the respondent. Following Alkire-Foster (2007) once again, to identify the disempowered respondents, the vector c which represent disempowered count is compared to the cut of k (where 1... k d = ). This implies that p , which is the identification step, can now be defined as ( ) 1 k i p y z = ; when i c k < , i c k ≥ , and ( ) 0 k i p y z = . For respondents who are disempowered in multiple dimensions, their identification step is defined as { } : ( ) k k i z i p y z = . The k p has been labeled as dual cutoff by Alkire-Foster because it tackles within cutoff dimensions ( ) j Z and across cutoff dimensions ( ) k . This enable us to determine respondents who are multi-dimensionally disempowered. In applying the Alkire-Foster methodology, there is a need to first apply the Head count ratio ( ; ) H H y z = . This is defined as q H n = . Where H is the percentage of disempowered respondents or the Head count ratio; and ( , ) q q y z = represent the number of Volume XXII Issue VII Version I 2 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 © 2022 Global Journals E Assessment of the Key Indicators and Dimensions of Women Empowerment in Rural Zambia respondents in set k Z , which is identified by using the dual cutoff method k p .