Effect of Women’s Paid Work Status on Their Decision-Making Autonomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis1

Abstract

This systematic review analyzes the relationship between and relative effect of women’s paid work status on their decision autonomy, among its other determinants. Using 22 studies with 28 different samples from low-and middle-income countries, this study shows that the overall effect of women’s paid work status on their decision-making autonomy is highly significant (p < 0.001), and a net odds ratio between women’s paid work and their decision autonomy of 1.26 (95% C.I.= 1.17-1.36). This autonomy as enjoyed by South Asian working women in contrast to their non-working counterparts (OR=1.30, 95% CI=1.16-1.45, p < 0.001) is slightly higher than that of non-South Asian women (OR=1.21, 95% CI=1.09-1.35, p=0.0006). The majority of decisions are made on health-related matters, the purchase of daily household needs, or investing large amounts of money in asset purchases. Education is the second major component of women’s decision autonomy (OR= 1.24, 95% CI= 1.19-1.30, p < 0.001), though it is not consistent across all geographic locations. This study also shows that women’s age and family wealth are important contributors to women’s autonomy in some countries, whereas husbands’ education and occupation do not empower married women in terms of their decision-making autonomy.