Multidimensional measurement of women's empowerment in West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU)

Empowering women is a priority of the Sustainable Development Goals. As a result, it is increasingly integrated into various development policies and programs. However, despite its recognition, understanding women's empowerment and assessing the progress made is limited by various factors, including the lack of a standard measurement tool. Using DHS data from seven WAEMU countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo), this work aims to construct a women's empowerment index. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis on a set of 32 identified indicators, a four-dimensional model of women's empowerment is proposed. These domains include attitude toward violence, participation in decision-making, access to healthcare, and education and media exposure. The women's empowerment measure derived from this analysis provides a tool that can be used to assess progress in enhancing women's status, particularly in domestic and social spheres.