The gender asset and wealth gaps: evidence from Ecuador, Ghana, and Karnataka, India

Abstract

Ownership, access, and control over productive assets are important to the well-being of individuals and households. Assets may generate income and facilitate access to credit. They strengthen the households’ ability to cope with and respond to shocks by enhancing their ability to diversify their income and ease liquidity constraints. Assets are also a store of wealth. Finally, the accumulation of productive assets is particularly important as a means for poor households to move out of poverty. Most assets are owned by individuals, rather than by households. Yet, until recently the collection of asset data only at the household level has hindered the analysis of the ownership of assets at the individual level. Until now, no data have been available at a national level to demonstrate the patterns of ownership of assets by women and by men. Research over the last decade has conclusively established that individual well-being and household well-being do not necessarily move together, with gender being one of the main differentiating factors. The Gender Asset Gap Project collected data from Ecuador, Ghana and Karnataka, India on asset ownership at the individual level. For the first time, data that are nationally representative in Ecuador and Ghana, and representative of the state of Karnataka, India,1 are available on individual as well as household ownership of assets. These individual level data are used to demonstrate patterns of individual and joint ownership of assets and to calculate the gender asset and wealth gaps for these three countries. These studies indicate that this data can be collected and used to compare ownership patterns across countries. One important reason to focus on the gender asset and wealth gaps is equity. Men and women should have equal access to and control over asset ownership. Promotion of gender equality must include a discussion of equality of asset ownership. In addition, evidence suggests that having assets in the hands of women empowers them; improves well-being at the individual, household, and community levels; significantly enhances their decision-making capabilities;2 and has a greater impact on the health and welfare of children.3 A few studies suggest it may also reduce women’s experience of domestic violence.4 Improving women’s rights to assets under these circumstances is an important policy lever to protect women from becoming marginalized. While there is widespread agreement that the property rights of women and girls are important, the data presented here are the first that provide a means to understand the extent of the gender asset and wealth gaps and how these vary across world regions.