Women’s Empowerment and Associated Factors in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo: A Secondary Data Analysis of the Performance Monitoring Assessment Survey

Annick Makongote (), Branly Mbunga, Pierre Akilimali, Sofia Castro Lopes and Dieudonné Mpunga
Additional contact information
Annick Makongote: Community Heath Master Program, School of Public Health, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 11850, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Branly Mbunga: Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 11850, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Pierre Akilimali: Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 11850, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Sofia Castro Lopes: Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
Dieudonné Mpunga: Department of Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa P.O. Box 11850, Democratic Republic of the Congo

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: Empowering women and promoting gender equality is crucial for accelerating sustainable development in fragile countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). However, there is scarce existing knowledge or understanding of the factors determining women’s empowerment in these contexts. We aimed to assess women’s empowerment and determine its associated factors in Kinshasa, DRC. We analyzed data from the 2021 Performance Monitoring Assessment (PMA) survey. A sample of 1365 women of childbearing age was retained for this study. Twenty empowerment items related to household decision-making, contraception use, and husband/partner influence were considered. We calculated the average women’s empowerment index (aWEI), identified the women’s empowerment variables using principal component analysis (PCA), and determined the associated factors for the first three principal components through the performance of multivariate binary logistic regression. In Kinshasa, the overall aWEI was estimated at 0.65. It was low for household decision-making (0.34) and high for husband/partner influence domains (0.93). Three principal components were identified and named, including the absence of threats, control of sexuality, and participation in decision-making. The factors associated with these components were having internet access, being in free union with a partner, being aged 40–49 years, and residing in a non-slum area. Increasing access to information would enable women in Kinshasa to make strategic decisions about their lives, benefiting themselves and others.

Keywords: women; empowerment; Kinshasa; PMA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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