Eucalyptus plantations and gender dynamics: Analyzing Women's empowerment in Northwest Ethiopia

Men and women often play distinct roles in forest management, each experiencing varying levels of empowerment. This study investigates the effect of eucalyptus plantations on women's empowerment in the Senan District of Northwest Ethiopia. It employed a mixed approach and a multistage sampling method. The data were collected using questionnaire surveys administered to 328 households, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and observations. The Abbreviated Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI) and the Abbreviated Women Empowerment in Eucalyptus plantations Index (A-WEEI) questionnaires were administered to both men and women within the same households. A probit model was used to identify the major determinants of women’s empowerment. The findings reveal significant disparities in empowerment levels between households with eucalyptus plantations and those without. While women across both types of households experience considerable disempowerment, those in eucalyptus-owning households face greater challenges, marked by heightened inadequacy and reduced empowerment. Lack of control over income (27.4 % for owners, 24.1 % for non-owners) is identified as the leading contributor to women's disempowerment in both household types, with a greater impact in eucalyptus-owning households. The estimated probit model found that women's age, residential area, and educational levels (including their husbands’ educational attainment), and mobile phone ownership positively and significantly affect women's empowerment. In contrast, the age difference between spouses and the academic disparity between them negatively and significantly affect women's empowerment. Thus, interventions must prioritize empowering women's income control by promoting individual savings accounts with competitive interest rates, alongside mandatory gender-responsive capacity-building programs (financial literacy, leadership, and negotiation training) at local and regional levels.