Effective economic empowerment for women happens when women enjoy their rights to control, make decisions about and benefit from resources, assets, income and their own time, and when they have the ability to manage risk and improve their economic status and well-being.

For Women’s Economic Empowerment to translate into meaningful empowerment, women must also have the autonomy and self-belief to make changes in their own lives, including having the agency and power to organize and influence decision-making, while enjoying equal rights to men and freedom from violence. It is also important to recognize that they generally undertake more unpaid care work than men, which limits their time and energy for paid work (either formal or informal).

This resource outlines Oxfam Canada’s Theory of Change for its Women’s Economic Empowerment programming. A theory of change shows how we expect outcomes to occur over the short, medium, and longer term as a result of our work.

In this document we outline how we understand Women's Economic Empowerment, why we focus on it, the ultimate aim of our Women's Economic Empowerment programming, our Theory of Change for these programs and a list of highlights and best practices stemming from our Women's Economic Empowerment programs.