Multiple scripts, multiple institutions: Introducing complexity into the understanding of women’s empowerment

Abstract

Partial enactment of women’s rights is at the crux of this analysis, which identifies factors associated with the adoption of some global women’s rights scripts but not others. Women who partially enact global principles are an important group, and focusing on them provides clues into when, where, and how institutionalized scripts are in competition. To explore this issue, Demographic and Health Survey data from 25 low- and middle-income countries across two time periods are used, with a focus on two dimensions of women’s empowerment: a woman’s household decision-making power and her attitudes toward intimate partner violence. Multinomial regressions reveal that exposure to global culture is associated with dual enactment of the two dimensions. Among partial adopters, enactment privileging physical integrity is mediated through local community institutions, including religions, whereas partial-enactment privileging decision making is associated with women’s household bargaining power.