Geographic variation in women’s empowerment: a multilevel analysis of India’s National Family Health Survey 2021

Abstract

Background

Women’s empowerment is vital for sustainable development, yet gender inequality persists across India’s sociocultural and geographic landscape. Most initiatives in India focus on state- and district-level frameworks, failing to address the localised challenges at smaller geographic levels.

Methods

This study quantified and visualised community variation in women’s empowerment using the fifth National Family Health Survey (2019–2021). Women’s empowerment was assessed across three domains – attitudes toward violence, social independence, and decision-making – using the globally validated Survey-based Women’s emPowERment index (SWPER). Four-level logistic regression models were used to partition the geographic variation in women’s empowerment into state, district, and community levels, and produce precision-weighted estimates.

Results

The final sample included 76 683 women, 9104 communities, 720 districts, and 36 states across India. Communities contributed most to the total geographic variation in attitude to violence (47.1%) and decision-making (69.6%), while states were the largest contributors in social independence (57.7%). Geographically, under-empowered communities were concentrated in the south for attitude to violence; in the north for social independence; and widely dispersed for decision-making.

Conclusions

Strategies to improve women’s empowerment in India should span across multiple geographic units while integrating domain-specific approaches to facilitate meaningful and sustainable progress.