Women’s Economic Empowerment

World Vision takes a two-part approach to women’s economic empowerment: strengthening the skills, resources, power, and agency of women while simultaneously addressing inequitable social and cultural norms, laws, and institutions to create an enabling environment where both women and men can thrive. Through core models such as Savings for Transformation, Ultra-Poor Graduation, Inclusive Markets for Communities, and microfinance, we focus on financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and inclusive market systems.

Looking ahead, World Vision continues to expand WEE interventions by promoting leadership opportunities for women, engaging men in caregiving, and enhancing women’s financial and digital inclusion. For example, to address the digital gender divide, we are digitizing savings groups through our Finance Accelerating Savings Group Transformation (FAST) approach, implemented by World Vision’s microfinance subsidiary, VisionFund. This initiative provides savings groups with access to relevant financial products, such as loans and insurance, that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.

Additionally, our research priorities include examining the links between women’s empowerment and key factors such as gender bargaining power, faith and empowerment, male engagement, financial and digital inclusion, and the care economy — including unpaid care work and participation in paid labor. Through these efforts, World Vision remains committed to advancing women’s economic empowerment as a pathway to gender equality and poverty reduction.

Zimbabwe: Enhancing Nutrition, Stepping Up Resilience and Enterprise (ENSURE)
World Vision’s USAID-funded ENSURE program in Zimbabwe empowered rural households in the Manicaland and Masvingo provinces to become more food secure by addressing both economic and gender inequalities. Through this program, World Vision worked with both men and women to address the underlying causes of women’s continued marginalization, tackling systemic barriers to women’s economic empowerment while promoting equitable household and community dynamics.

A key focus was improving women’s income and livelihoods by providing training in literacy, numeracy, agricultural techniques, and marketing. Women farmers — many previously at a subsistence level — were connected with local businesses, financial providers, and buyers, eventually selling high-quality batches in large quantities to restaurants, hotel chains, and even the World Food Programme.

Household-level economic gains were significant, with net revenue increasing by 200% for goats, 95% for poultry, 23% for groundnuts, and 500% for sorghum. The total value of income from savings groups and farmers (the majority of whom were women) increased substantially from the program’s baseline.

These improvements were made possible through efforts to shift gender norms at the household level. ENSURE worked with men to encourage shared decision-making, caregiving, and household responsibilities. Over three years, men’s participation in tasks such as fetching water, collecting firewood, and vegetable gardening increased by 54% to 64%. Joint decision-making among couples rose from 30% to 82%, and with reduced time spent on unpaid care work, women were able to dedicate more time to rest and income-generating activities. Through this holistic approach, ENSURE not only improved food security but also fostered more equitable and resilient households.

Bangladesh: Nobo Jatra “New Beginnings”
World Vision, through the USAID-funded Nobo Jatra project, improved gender-equitable food security, nutrition, and resilience among vulnerable communities in southwest Bangladesh. The project empowered women by providing training in literacy, numeracy, financial management, and technical skills, enabling them to participate in income-generating activities.

Using the ultra-poor graduation model, Nobo Jatra supported 21,000 women with vocational training and startup grants of $188. Participation in Savings for Transformation groups, a World Vision savings group model, helped enhance their financial literacy and access to financial services. Women were trained in Alternative Income Generating Activity (AlGA) trades such as hand embroidery, turkey rearing, tailoring, basketry, and dry fish processing. Many now earn steady incomes averaging $54 to $75 a month — a sizable amount in this area — where before they had none.

The project also supported women in agricultural production, including livestock rearing, homestead farming, and aquaculture. Female lead farmers were trained to establish demonstration plots and sell produce in local markets, with market linkages facilitating access to inputs and sales through collection centers. Through these efforts, World Vision fostered long-term economic resilience and empowered women to secure sustainable livelihoods.