Determinants of Control over Usage of Women’s Cash Earnings in the Households of Rural Areas: A Case of Wanging’ombe District Council in Tanzania

Miriam Chengula; Amani Joseph Mkelenga; Innocent Fabiano Mpeta

doi:10.37284/eajass.6.1.1170

Miriam Chengula Institute of Rural Development Planning
Amani Joseph Mkelenga Institute of Rural Development Planning
Innocent Fabiano Mpeta Institute of Rural Development Planning

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/eajass.6.1.1170

Keywords: Women’s Earnings, Control Over Resources, Women Empowerment, Decision

Share Article:

Abstract

The study was conducted in the Wanging’ombe district council in the Njombe region, Southern highlands of Tanzania. The objective of the study was to assess the determinants of women’s control over their earnings. The study employed a cross-section research design. Data were collected from 150 women who engaged in various economic activities. The structured interview method was used to collect data using a structured questionnaire. Data were processed and analysed using IBM SPSS statistics version 20 and Stata version 11. The analysis involved descriptive analysis in exploring the characteristics of women in the study area, a chi-square test for association, and a binary logistic regression to explore the predictors. The results revealed that more than half (54.7%) of women reported that their husbands/partners decide for them on the use of money earned. Three factors, namely ownership of the house, kind of earning activity (source of income), and amounts of money earned per month are predictors of the control over women’s cash earnings in the household. The study concluded that, although husbands have less chance to decide on income earned by women who engage in economic activities other than farming and those who earn a higher income, household resources including women’s earnings are controlled by husbands to a large extent. The local government authorities in Wanging’ombe and non-government organisations interested in women’s empowerment should intensify efforts to address violence against women, especially economic abuse. This will enable women to engage in different economic activities and be employed in informal and formal sectors

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abate, N. (2020). The role of rural women in natural resources management and utilisation: A case of Delanta District, South Wollo Zone, Ethiopia. Journal of Environment and Ecology, 12(3), 104-116. DOI: 10.5897/JENE2018.0716

Anderson, C. L., Reynolds, T. W., Biscaye, P., Patwardhan, V., & Schmidt, C. (2021). Economic benefits of empowering women in agriculture: Assumptions and evidence. The Journal of Development Studies, 57(2), 193-208.

Bharti, N. (2021). Role of cooperatives in economic empowerment of women: A review of Indian experiences. World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 17(4), 617-631. Emerald Publishing Limited. DOI: 10.1108/WJEMSD-07-2020-0095

Doss, C. (2006). The effects of intrahousehold property ownership on expenditure patterns in Ghana. Journal of African Economies, 15(1), 149-180.

Eggers del Campo, I. & Steinert, I. J. (2020). The Effect of Female Economic Empowerment Interventions on the Risk of Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 1-17. DOI: 10.1177/1524838020976088

Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research Methodology, Methods, and Techniques (2nd Revised Edition). New Age International Publishers Ltd: New Delhi-110002.

Mayoux, L. (2020). Gender and rural microfinance: Reaching and empowering women and Women in Development (WID). Retrieved from https://www.ifad.org/gender-finance

Menon, S., & Sharma, S. (2020). A study on the status of women’s empowerment in urban Bangalore, India. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 21(5), 54-64.

Ndossi, M. J., Ahmad, K. A., & Makindara, J. R. (2022). Intra-household decision making on production and income generation options among women in Mara Region, Tanzania. Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 21(1), 324-334.

Opata, I. P., Ezeibe, B. A., & Ume, O. C. (2020). Impact of women’s share of income on household expenditure in southeast Nigeria. African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 15(1), 51-64.

OPHI. (2018). Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2018: The Most Detailed Picture to Date of the World’s Poorest People. University of Oxford, UK.

Roy, P. K., Haque, S., Jannat, A., Ali, M., & Khan, M. S. (2017). Contribution of women to household income and decision-making in some selected areas of Mymensingh in Bangladesh. Progressive Agriculture, 28(2), 120-129.

Serpa, P., A. D., Mshana, G., Aloyce, D., Peter, E., Mchome, Z., Malibwa, D., ... & Stöckl, H. (2021). Women’s understanding of economic abuse in North-Western Tanzania. Women’s Health, 17, 17455065211042180. doi: 10.1177/17455065211042180

URT. (2013). Tanzania Population and Housing Census. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: National Bureau of Statistics.

URT. (2016). Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: National Bureau of Statistics.

URT. (2020). Wanging’ombe District Socio-economic Profile (Unpublished raw data). https://wangingombedc.go.tz/storage/app/uploads/public/597/0a0/a42/5970a0a42d7bf997195101.pdf

Women, U. N. (2022). Poverty deepens for women and girls, according to the latest projections. Retrieved from https://data.unwomen.org/features/poverty-deepens-women-and-girls-according-latest-projections (Accessed on 8th April 2023).