Analysis

In order to understand the lack of women economic autonomy, it is necessary to bear in mind the fact that these do not always have incomes of their own, as a result, their decision-making power related to household’s money administration issues is limited. 
While the increase in labor force participation of women has contributed to the decline in the proportion of women without income of their own in the late 1990s, yet in 2017 this proportion reached a regional average of 29.4% while for men the number was 10.7%. This means that almost one third of women in the countries of the region depend on other’s income for their own subsistence, which makes them vulnerable and economically dependent on others, who are in most cases men.