Women's experiences of economic coercion and depressive symptoms in Matlab, Bangladesh.

Prior studies of the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) and depressive symptoms have typically excluded economic coercion (EC), a prevalent form of IPV worldwide. Here, we used structural equation models (SEM) to estimate the association of EC with depressive symptoms, with and without adjustment for physical/psychological/sexual IPV, among women in rural Matlab, Bangladesh. Data were collected from cross-sectional surveys with married women 15-49 years, conducted between November 2018 and January 2019. Prior-week depressive symptoms were measured using the 10-item Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression short-form. Lifetime EC was assessed using a bi-dimensional, 36-item scale developed in Matlab. Lifetime physical/sexual/psychological IPV was assessed using the 20-item WHO Domestic Violence module. Covariates were age, age at marriage, and schooling; partner's schooling; and household wealth. Among 929 women, lifetime experience of EC ranged from 41.9% (control over access to work, schooling, and training) to 50.0% (control over use/maintenance of economic resources), while any lifetime physical/psychological/sexual IPV was 89.5%. Coercion involving the use and maintenance of economic resources had a significant, adjusted association with depressive symptoms (standardized coefficient = 0.491, p<0.001, R2=0.221). The standardized association of any physical/psychological/sexual IPV with depressive symptoms, adjusted for covariates and cluster sampling, was 0.346 (p <0.001, R2=0.143). When further adjusted for the two measures of EC, the association was attenuated and non-significant (0.049, p = 0.817). These findings suggest that EC is prevalent, significantly associated with depressive symptoms, and attenuates the association of other forms of IPV with depressive symptoms. Addressing EC with other forms of IPV may be necessary to reduce depressive symptoms in exposed women.

Women's agency in Egypt: construction and validation of a multidimensional scale in rural Minya.

BACKGROUND: Measurement of women's agency in specific sociocultural conditions, particularly in Middle Eastern settings, has received limited attention, making its usefulness as an outcome or predictor of gender equality unclear. AIMS: This study aimed to construct and validate a multidimensional and context-specific scale of women's agency in rural Minya, Egypt. METHODS: Using data from 608 ever-married women in 2012, confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis were used to construct a scale measuring women's agency in rural Minya. The scale was validated through exploratory structural equation models. RESULTS: The 21-item model consisted of three factors (decision-making, freedom of movement and gender role attitudes), each corresponding to a previously-theorized domain of women's agency. The three factors were positively correlated, supporting women's agency as a multidimensional, context-specific construct. The strongest correlation was between decision-making and freedom of movement (0.410), and then between freedom of movement and gender attitudes (0.307); the weakest correlation was between decision-making and gender attitudes (0.211). Although we hypothesized that each domain would be positively associated with age, only decision-making was significantly and positively associated with women's age. CONCLUSION: Similarities between the items used here and a study at the national level in Egypt suggest these indicators could be used in various Egyptian settings to monitor progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 on empowering women and girls, and to assess the effect of policies and programmes. Future research should build on the findings to identify the best observable indicators of women's agency in Egypt and elsewhere.

Intrinsic and instrumental agency associated with nutritional status of East African women.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development prioritizes women's empowerment in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #5: to achieve gender equality and empowerment among all women and girls. Research on the relationships of women's empowerment and nutrition has focused on the child's nutrition. Less is known about how women's empowerment influences their own nutritional status. We examined the pathways by which three domains of women's empowerment (WE)-assets, intrinsic agency, and instrumental agency-may influence women's nutritional status (WNS) in East Africa. We used data from 42,721 married non-pregnant women, 15-49 years old interviewed in Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from five east Africa countries (2011-2016). WNS was operationalized through body mass index (BMI) and altitude-adjusted blood-hemoglobin level (Hb). A latent factor for women's human/social assets (assets) measured women's enabling resources. Two additional latent factors measured women's intrinsic agency (power within; women's non-justification of intimate partner violence (IPV) against wives) and instrumental agency (power to; influence in household decision-making). We used structural equation models with latent variables to estimate the strength of the hypothesized pathways from women's assets to WNS through measures of intrinsic and instrumental agency. All three domains of WE had direct, positive associations with women's BMI [(estimate (95% CI) (Assets: [0.17 (0.14,0.20)]; Intrinsic Agency: [0.25 (0.22,0.27)]; Instrumental Agency [0.08 (0.03,0.10)])]. Women's instrumental agency was positively associated with women's Hb [0.12 (0.09,0.14)]. Total associations, including direct and indirect effects, with women's BMI were positive through intrinsic agency & instrumental agency. Total associations with women's Hb were positive through instrumental agency. Direct and indirect effects from assets through both components of agency to BMI were higher in magnitude by household wealth category. Domains of WE were positively associated with WNS. Findings indicate that the process of women's empowerment may be an important driver of their nutritional status.

Gender equality in global health leadership: Cross-sectional survey of global health graduates.

Women comprise two-thirds of the global-health (GH) workforce but are underrepresented in leadership. GH departments are platforms to advance gender equality in GH leadership. Using a survey of graduates from one GH department, we compared women's and men's post-training career agency and GH employment and assessed whether gender gaps in training accounted for gender gaps in career outcomes. Master-of-Public-Health (MPH) and mid-career-fellow alumni since 2010 received a 31-question online survey. Forty-four per cent of MPH alum and 24% of fellows responded. Using logistic regression, we tested gender gaps in training satisfaction, career agency, and GH employment, unadjusted and adjusted for training received. Women (N = 293) reported lower satisfaction with training (M7.6 vs 8.2) and career agency (leadership ability: M6.3 vs 7.4) than men (N = 60). Women more often than men acquired methods-related skills (95% vs 78%), employment recommendations (42% vs 18%), and group membership. Men more often than women acquired leadership training (43% vs 23%), award recommendations (53% vs 17%), and conference support (65% vs 35%). Women and men had similar odds of GH employment. Accounting for confounders and gender-gaps in training eliminated gender gaps in five of six career-agency outcomes. Panel studies of women's and men's career trajectories in GH are needed.