Women’s Participation in Household Decision Making and Its Associated Factors in Ethiopia: Evidence from the 2016 Ethiopia’s Demographic and Health Survey
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Date
2021-10
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Background: In Ethiopia like rest of the world, women have played indispensable role in improvement of household’s well-being. However, women decision making concerning their health care, major household purchase and movement outside of their home also determined by pre-disposing factors among married women not compressively understood, less investigated, and implemented in Ethiopia. Hence, principal aim of this study is to examine the levels and patterns of women’s participation in household decisions and its micro-level socio-cultural and demographic factors in Ethiopia.
Methods: The study used data from 2016 Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey (EDHS). It comprised of sample women of reproductive age group from 15-49 years, living in rural and urban areas covering nine states and two city administrations, and have completed women’s participation decision making data during the survey year. Descriptive statistics and maximum likelihood estimation of logistic regression analysis applied to investigate participation of women decision-making process and factors influencing women’s decisions making. The Stata statistical software used to analyze the data. Logistic regression models have been specified for each of decision making, diagnostic has been made for each of the models to test assumptions related to logistic regression models.
Results: Descriptive statistics analysis showed that about 70% of sample women participate in all decision type, 82% on their own health care, 78% on major household purchase and 82% on visiting their relatives. The odds of making decision by primary, secondary and higher education among women who participate in their health care, making household purchase, visiting their relatives and all these decisions higher than compared to women having with no education. Compared to women who were in poorest household, those who were rich had higher odds of participation in all decision area. Women’s age gap greater than equal to twenty years and between even and twenty years were significantly influenced women’s participation on decision-making of household purchase and visiting their family or relatives respectively. Access to media negatively and significantly influence women’s participation all of decision making and women who lived in rural area positively and significantly influenced women decision making on health care only. Working status of women significantly influenced all of women decision-making areas except women’s mobility. Regions/sub-nationals has also positive and negative contribution in affecting women’s decision making.
Conclusion: Considering the above results, women’s participation in household decision making increases by working on women’s centered education program, wealth improvement program such as employment importunities and women’s empowerment intervention in some of the rural part of the region.
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Household decision making participation, Women, Ethiopia