Promoting Pro-poor Growth: the Role of Empowerment

Inequity and power imbalances, adverse employment conditions and the lack of economic opportunities or control over assets are all manifestations of peoples' disempowerment and contribute to their poverty. This Policy Guidance Note considers the causal relationship between empowerment and pro-poor growth. It identifies eight domains of empowerment within three spheres: the economic (markets, decent employment and productive assets); the political (political representation and collective action); and the social (human capabilities, critical awareness and inclusion) and describes what donors can do to support and strengthen empowerment in those domains. Suggestions for how donors should work for optimal effect include key messages for development cooperation. Disempowerment – whether defined in terms of a lack of self confidence, apathy, fear, or an inability to take charge of one's own life – is perhaps the most unrecognised problem in Africa today. I have found (this syndrome)to be as substantial a bottleneck to development in Africa as inadequate infrastructure or bad governance and it has added an extra weight to the work of those who want to enable individuals and communities to better their circumstances. wangari maathai, nobel laureate (maathai 2009) * this Policy Guidance note was approved by the oecd development assistance committee (dac) in february 2012. Inequity and power imbalances, adverse employment conditions and the lack of economic opportunities or control over assets are all manifestations of peoples' disempowerment and contribute to their poverty. This Policy Guidance Note considers the causal relationship between empowerment and pro-poor growth. It identifies eight domains of empowerment within three spheres: the economic (markets, decent employment and productive assets); the political (political representation and collective action); and the social (human capabilities, critical awareness and inclusion) and describes what donors can do to support and strengthen empowerment in those domains. Suggestions for how donors should work for optimal effect include key messages for development cooperation .