This final paper for a course at George Washington University includes the design for a behavior change intervention I developed in 2012. The proposed intervention is based on a literature review only and not field research. The paper was meant to be an intellectual exercise only and was never meant to be implemented.
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Program Design: Strengthening Women's Economic Empowerment in Cameroon
1. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 1
Heather Risley
George Washington University
Social and Behavior Change Program Proposal:
Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon
2. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 2
Introduction
Women in Cameroon consistently face higher barriers to economic security compared to men.
In addition to high levels of poverty, women face unique challenges that hinder them from being able to
make enough money to feed their families and send their children to school. Evidence has shown that
when women have control over money, they are more likely to invest in health care and education for
their children – both crucial steps to breaking the cycle of poverty. The ability to start a home-based
business is also important to poverty reduction. An assessment of how microcredit affects self-
employment found that “India’s rural banking reform programme increased the likelihood of women’s
self-employment as own-account workers, while having little effect on men’s self-employment work as
own-account workers. A possible explanation is that since women have restricted access to formal
employment in developing countries such as India, when the household obtains a loan, it is rational for
women to become self-employed and to start a home-based business” (Menon and Rodgers 2009). In
the case of India, Lanjouw and Murgai (2009) find that "rural diversification and the expansion of non-
farm employment, including self-employment, are directly associated with a decline in rural poverty."
In a survey of research regarding the strengthening of women’s economic empowerment,
improving access to credit is the dominant means of intervention. These interventions generally address
how microfinance organizations can improve their services to better meet the needs of women and
strategies to better inform women what financial services are available to them. Microfinance is
strongly supported by the international donor community, and many microfinance institutions around
the world are proving to be profitable. Through the “financial self-sustainability paradigm,” supported
by organizations such as the World Bank-funded Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and
adopted in key policy documents coming out of Microfinance Summits, “women's participation in
groups is promoted as a key means of increasing financial sustainability and poverty targeting through
drawing on 'social capital,' while at the same time being assumed to empower women through
3. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 3
automatically strengthening this social capital” (Mayoux 2001). However, providing greater access to
loans solves only part of the problem. Other social and cultural trends are at work, which contribute to
women’s continued economic dependency. In fact, a recent World Bank Enterprise Survey actually
refutes the notion that females face greater challenges accessing credit than men. According to the
report, an analysis of performance gaps between male- and female-owned companies in Eastern Europe
and Central Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa showed no “evidence of gender-based
discrimination in access to formal finance (‘supply constraint’) in any of these three regions” (Bardasi et
al. 2011). These findings suggest that to really make a difference in women’s empowerment, the
intervention has to be more comprehensive.
In this paper, I adopt a comprehensive definition of economic empowerment, which includes
not only increased income, but other variables such as more equitable control over household
expenditures, access to suppliers, and admission to business networks historically dominated by men.
This definition is based on the distinction made first by economist Amartya Sen between income poverty
and capabilities poverty (Sen 1999). The experiences of Cameroonian women echo the arguments
against solely providing loans. Numerous microfinance organizations exist in Cameroon that specifically
target the rural female population; however, access to credit alone is not contributing to higher income
generation or empowerment more broadly. Despite the variety of financial service options available to
them, research shows that many women are actually dependent on loans in order to survive (Mayoux
2001). Therefore, the specific problem I identify is not an inability to access credit, but an inability to
capitalize on these loans and to participate equitably in the larger economy.
State of Women in Rural Cameroon
Linda Mayoux’s paper (2001) on social capital and women’s empowerment in Cameroon
provides the basis for most of the following summary on the obstacles women confront in that country.
The problems are numerous and complex. Cameroonian culture is embedded with the notion that
4. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 4
women are subservient to men. At the individual level, many women feel subordination should be
accepted, and their position in life should be borne as best as possible. This sort of attitude results in a
lack of confidence that they have any agency in controlling their economic future. Compounded with
this mindset, women commonly believe that people are poor because they don’t work hard enough. If
women don’t see a common purpose amongst themselves and recognize their collective strength,
achieving greater levels of social capital might prove more difficult. At the community level, a number
of social norms work against women’s ability to become economically empowered. For example, males
dominate more lucrative industries, which due to socially imposed gender segregation in markets,
prevents many women from participating in activities that might make them more money. Unequal
vertical linkages are also a problem. Men and women with higher social capital within the community
(those that hold more power, due to financial reasons or otherwise) control access to goods and services
considered critical to financial success. If social norms dictate that more powerful people in the
community can deny more vulnerable women access to these critical inputs, women will never be able
to scale their economic activities and become less financially dependent on loans.
Barriers also exist at the household level. Both law and culture enforce the idea that women are
subordinate to their husbands, and in the case where a man has multiple wives, junior wives are even
more vulnerable. In Cameroon, the man has ultimate control over household expenditures. The
husband dictates what goods shall be bought with household income, which is often not in the best
interest of women and children. Women are often left to come up with extra income just to feed
themselves or obtain education and healthcare for their children. For these reasons, obtaining a loan in
Cameroon, usually through group lending, is a popular option. However, the loan can sometimes
backfire. When a husband learns his wife has been able to get a loan, he may be even less inclined to
contribute to household necessities, and a bigger burden is placed on the wife to pay back the loan.
5. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 5
Given the extraordinary burdens placed on women, they have to work long hours, leaving little time for
starting a new business or volunteering that would improve their situations.
At the structural level, there is little improvement in women’s protection. There are a number
of serious legal issues that prevent women from participating equitably in economic activities. Women
are more often the target of bribery and extortion at various points in the value chain. They are also
more vulnerable to sexual harassment and even rape. The law in Cameroon is too weak to prevent any
of these cruelties. Finally, local law makes women the dependents of men, and the rights of children
pass through male lineage upon separation or divorce. This reality brings about a host of unfortunate
consequences. As a result, women are less likely to know what income their husbands make and are
dependent on either their husbands or loans to obtain necessary household items, education and
healthcare. Given these complex and interdependent problems, it is clear that a solution will have to
take into consideration both access to financial services as well as other means by which women can
participate in the economy more equitably with men.
Leveraging Local Assets
Despite the challenges, some aspects of Cameroonian society could be leveraged to women’s
advantage and to address the problems identified. First, there is a strong Christian influence which
supports communal activities among women. Consequently, there has been a long history of forming
groups within the community to solve common problems that affect women. These pre-existing groups
are an asset to any intervention seeking to leverage women’s collective skills. Also, at least nine
microfinance organizations are active in Cameroon. Efforts should be made to form partnerships with
these organizations to exert more influence on improving women’s prospects. As women are their
primary clients, there would be a natural incentive to provide additional services and support to women,
ultimately allowing them to take out bigger sums of money and increasing the probability the loans will
6. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 6
be repaid. Identifying existing champions of women’s welfare in all aspects of the community and
gaining their support is critical to the long-term success of any intervention.
It is unrealistic to design a project that seeks to tackle all of these problems at once. The Self-
Help Group program (SHG), implemented in the rural area of Tamil Nadu, India in 1998, took a
participatory approach in strengthening women’s groups which acted as a catalyst for change in many
different ways. According to Tesoriero’s evaluation report, the project saw positive results in truly
changing the position of women in the community so that they could accomplish a number of
community development initiatives that directly benefited them (2006). As opposed to the Grameen
Bank in Bangladesh, “SHGs are more participatory and driven from the grassroots, while at the same
time demanding more skills of women…" (2006). The general objectives of SHG relate to social
empowerment (equal status, participation in decision-making), economic empowerment (access to and
control over resources, reduced vulnerability, and increase in income), and capacity building (increased
skills, knowledge, self- and mutual help, and leadership roles). The SHGs were comprised of 12 to 20 of
the most vulnerable women in the community. Tesoriero states that critical to the program’s success
was the partnership with the Rural Unit for Health and Social Affairs (RUHSA), a local civil society
organization. The RUHSA began as a primary health care project, but evolved to support local
communities in areas of agriculture, vocational training, and other social issues. Its role in the SHG
program is to help women establish groups by supporting internal operations and facilitating
partnerships with banks. The evaluation report indicates that as of October 2004, there were 362 SHGs
with 7,238 members which surpassed the original target of 189 SHGs. The report notes that a key factor
in the success of the SHG-RUHSA partnership was the emphasis on the “belief in women's abilities,
rather than paternalistically targeting 'deficiencies'” (2006).
Important lessons can be drawn from this example. Designing an intervention that encourages
bottom-up solutions and forges strong partnerships are critical characteristics of a successful program.
7. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 7
The people affected by the intervention can then continue to act as sustainable change agents within
their community long after the project is finished.
Program Objectives
To strengthen women’s empowerment in Cameroon, program goals should focus on both
enhancing women’s ability to use credit to their greatest advantage and increasing women’s control of
household finances. These objectives were chosen because they are the likely to most strongly affect
women in the least amount of time. Changing national policies would take a long time, and waiting for
proper enforcement of laws that will better protect women would take even longer. Furthermore, the
systems in which these policies are based are ultimately driven by culture within the rural communities.
If the communities themselves can be transformed, it would go a long way in achieving greater
economic equality for women. Therefore, the stated program goals are targeted at the community
level and address both women as well as men. To meet the program goals, one solution will focus on
the implementation and promotion of financial education tailored to women. The current lack of
financial education for women could be attributed to a number of causes. One is simply a lack of time.
Attitudes within the community dictate that women’s roles should be confined to laborious agricultural
work, cooking for the family, and caring for the children, none of which reap large economic returns.
Women work long hours just to make ends meet, having little time for outside training. Secondly,
cultural norms do not value women as equal partners with their husbands in contributing to household
income. Financial education is considered inappropriate for women who are economically subordinate
to their husbands. This is especially true in the case of junior wives in polygamous households. Not only
is a junior wife subordinate to her husband, but also to a senior wife who may have some marginal
means of control or influence over household finances. Thirdly, the existence of numerous microfinance
institutions (MFIs) serving women may act as a front that women’s financial needs are being met within
the community through various forms of credit. There may not be awareness at the community level
8. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 8
that credit alone is often insufficient to empower women. Given these challenges, it makes sense that
solutions should begin at the community level.
In the general literature, financial education as a means to achieve financial behavior change has
received mixed reviews. Studies conducted in the United States and Great Britain do not indicate that
financial education necessarily leads to greater savings or budgeting, and financial education programs
in a developing country context are relatively new. However, several financial education programs in
the last few years have shown positive results where microfinance clients started to budget more
effectively and save more often after going through training. One example in particular is the Global
Financial Education Program in Bolivia and Sri Lanka, implemented by Microfinance Opportunities and
Freedom from Hunger. The project designed and implemented, in association with local MFIs, curricula
based on savings, debt management, and budgeting. Their experience suggests that a successful
program is dependent on a curriculum developed with input from the participants themselves.
According to the report, “Financial behaviors are fluid, ever-changing, influenced by both internal and
external factors. It is risky to assume that financial education as a concept is ineffective when research
shows that the more financially literate the clients are, the better their financial decisions and overall
financial well-being are compared to financially illiterate clients. This suggests that it is more useful to
spend time assessing the factors that make financial education most effective: to whom to deliver it,
when, how often, and with which financial concepts and design—and in connection with which financial
instruments” (Gray et al, 2005).
Implementing a financial education program in Cameroon is both realistic and has a high chance
of success. The fact that established MFIs already exist is a key asset. Presumably, these institutions
already know a lot about their clients. They probably also have the capacity to conduct extensive
market research to determine exactly how satisfied women are with the loan products they use and
9. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 9
what their challenges are. These institutions would also be natural allies in promoting financial
education among women. If women are better equipped to budget, save, and manage debt, they will
be more likely to both pay back loans and potentially borrow bigger amounts in the future. Any financial
education program should actively engage MFIs from the beginning. Additionally, Cameroonian culture
is highly communal and cooperative. A large number of women are already comfortable obtaining
financial services from MFIs. If the financial education program is closely associated with these
institutions, or perhaps serves as a prerequisite for borrowing certain amounts of money, women may
be more likely to participate in the program, despite their busy schedules. Identifying women in the
community who already wield influence to become first adopters in the program will critical in
persuading other women that the program can help them too.
While a solution that includes strengthening human capital through skills building is critically
important, a solution that includes building social capital (community networks and strength of
supports) is equally important in addressing what Sen calls “capability poverty” (1999). These two
solutions are inextricably linked; relieving income poverty without addressing capability poverty will not
lead to effective female economic empowerment. In other words, women’s financial savvy does her no
good if she is restricted to the use of her own financial assets. Increasing women’s control over
household finances is fundamentally about gender power relations. Therefore, it is important to
understand what is meant by both “power” and “empowerment” in the context of gender relations.
According to Kabeer, “Power can be conceptualized in terms of people’s capacity to make strategic life
choices and exercise influence. Empowerment then refers to the processes by which this capacity is
acquired by those who have been hitherto denied it” (2010). The author also identifies three concepts
related to empowerment: the power within, involving how women view themselves; the power to, or
the behavior dimension reflecting women’s increased ability make strategic choices and exercise
influence; and the power with, related to women coming together to reflect, to question and to act on
10. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 10
their subordinate status. Kabeer also recognizes the importance of male attitudes: “men’s attitudes and
behaviour towards women in the different spheres of their lives will be critical to the kinds of change
women are able to achieve. And men’s willingness to ally themselves with women in their struggles for
gender justice will provide a powerful reinforcement of the momentum for change” (2010). The first
solution discussed in the paper, providing financial education, speaks to the power to aspect of Kabeer’s
analysis of female empowerment. Equipping women with knowledge and tangible skills will better
enable them to make strategic life choices. A second solution must then relate to both the power within
and the power with aspects. Women themselves must be convinced of their own potential to contribute
to household income and recognize the community support networks available to them to achieve their
goals.
Of course, a solution to solve this problem must not involve women alone. Men must also be
persuaded to see their wives as partners in joint economic success. A solution that appeals to the
mutual desire of both men and women to earn more money and provide for their families is a logical
starting point. This can be done through the promotion of community dialogue about household
economic strengthening in the form of social events that both men and women can attend. These
events will give men and women the chance to speak more freely about financial issues. Regular and
open dialogue about control over finances will be important to breaking down unequal power
structures. This is another opportunity to identify individuals who demonstrate “positive deviance.”
These individuals could be men who let their wives participate equally in financial decision making or
women who have successfully started home-based enterprises that afford them a greater level of
economic security. These individuals should be singled out as examples and encouraged to promote
similar behavior among their peers. Once a tipping point is reached where men begin to understand the
benefits of allowing women to share responsibility of household finances, a significant shift in attitudes
toward women in the community will be possible and empowerment can be fulfilled.
11. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 11
Program Design
The following women’s economic empowerment strategy will focus on two objectives in rural
communities in Cameroon: provide financial education tailored to women and change men’s attitudes
toward seeing women as equal partners in economic success. The former will equip women with skills
to manage money better and build their confidence in reaching their own economic objectives. The
latter will help give women more control over household income so they can use their new skills and
allow them a greater voice in their own and their children’s futures. Formative research has shown that
women in Cameroon already have some resources available to them. The female community is well
disposed to pooling their resources and making group decisions, a behavior that should be encouraged
to continue. In addition, there are already a number of microfinance institutions offering small loans to
women. These existing institutions should play a central role in the following strategy, because it is in
their interest to better understand the needs of their main clients, and their buy-in will help make the
intervention more sustainable. An important part of any project design is sustainability. When local
resources become part of the solution, results are more likely to continue long after the project has left.
Financial Education Training
Implementing a financial education program for women will take a participatory approach.
Educational programs will not be useful to women if the curriculum is not responsive to their needs. A
participatory approach was considered a key to success by the Global Financial Education Program in
Bolivia and Sri Lanka, implemented by Microfinance Opportunities and Freedom from Hunger (Gray et
al, 2005). The first step in this part of the strategy will be to convene a focus group among as many
women in the community that are willing to participate. A focus group would be the most efficient way
to collect information from a larger group, rather than conducting individual interviews. A focus group
could also help to reinforce shared challenges that the women face and build solidarity in changing their
own situations. A facilitator, hired by the project and with a background in financial services, will lead a
12. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 12
discussion to assess exactly what the women say are the biggest barriers to sustained economic stability,
or the ability to make enough money so as to not be completely dependent on loans to survive.
Discussion should consider various areas of intervention, including savings plans, debt management,
budgets, knowledge of credit options and business services available to women. Beyond assessing
women’s financial savvy, the facilitator should also ask women about their level of control over
household income, whether their husbands would allow them to go to trainings, where the women
would feel most comfortable meeting, and what times would be most appropriate to hold trainings.
The information collected from this focus group should directly inform curriculum design, but it
should also be anticipated that not all the women’s problems might be able to be solved immediately
through the education program. If some women cannot find the time to come to trainings or if some
women’s husbands will not allow them to participate, the entire program design should not hinge on
their ability to participate right away. As the initial group of women goes through the program, they can
be used as examples of the benefits that can be gained. As first adopters, these women can act as
advocates among their female friends that the program is worth the time. Also, as men’s attitudes start
to change as a result of the second part of the intervention, more husbands will likely become more
comfortable letting their wives come to trainings. As the education program starts to produce results in
the beginning, it is anticipated that larger numbers of women will participate.
In planning the curriculum, strong attempts should be made to create partnerships between the
project and the local microfinance institutions (MFIs). MFIs would make natural partners in this
intervention because they have an interest in women becoming more financially stable. If women get
better at saving and budgeting, they will be more likely to pay back their loans. If they are able to make
more income in the future, they might also be interested in taking out larger loans. This is also an
opportunity for the MFIs to raise awareness among the women of all the services available to them,
perhaps beyond just providing credit. They might also learn to better understand their client needs and
13. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 13
adapt their current services to meet new challenges. MFI employees could make strong trainers who
would lead the classes. Presumably, these employees best understand the services available and the
local conditions. It would also make sense for the trainings to be held in their buildings. Creating a
strong connection between the MFIs and the trainings gives MFIs credibility and ensures that trainings
can continue into the future. In this scenario, the project may need to implement a train the trainers
activity to make sure MFI employees are well equipped to teach the curriculum.
Providing public recognition upon completion of the program is another key component to this
strategy. As a class of women completes the educational program, a celebration will be held and
certificates will be awarded. A celebration doesn’t have to be extravagant, but a public recognition of
the women’s achievement is important to reinforce the value of women’s education. It may also be an
opportunity to display the real benefits of the program and entice other women to participate. Giving
out certificates serves to validate achievement and build confidence among the female students.
Fostering healthy competition to adopt a positive behavior has been shown to be highly effective across
a number of programs in many different technical areas.
“Community Improvement” Dialogues
The second part of the strategy will involve holding public lunches after weekly community
events, such as going to church, to provide the space for fostering dialogue around families’ economic
challenges and goals. Although the focus of this part of the strategy is on changing men’s attitudes, it’s
important that women are present in the conversation to show that they have ideas to offer and to
foster equality and respect. However, it’s unlikely that if men are told they should stay after church to
talk to their wives about economic problems that they will show up. To overcome this barrier, these
gatherings will be branded as “Community Improvement” or “Community Strengthening” meetings.
The name should evoke an initiative that benefits the whole community and may appeal to men’s sense
of duty. A recognized community leader should be encouraged to open the gathering with a speech
14. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 14
about the importance of all members taking responsibility to provide for their families. Small tables
should be arranged so that three to four families are eating together, which will provide the best
arrangement for group discussion. After the opening speech is given, community members who have
achieved notable economic accomplishments should be recognized, such as starting a new job,
beginning a new business, making a new investment, receiving a loan, or industry recognition, etc.
Providing another opportunity for public acknowledgement of economic achievement – for both men
and women – will reinforce the message that women can contribute economically on an equal level with
men. After this part of the meeting is over, the leader should direct families to share their goals with
each other, and then identify how they want to achieve them. Project staff should be strategically
placed at the tables to help facilitate this discussion. It’s important that the leader is seen to sanction
the gathering, but project staff will be needed to help keep conversation on track. It is anticipated that
by having different families interact with each other regarding financial decisions and objectives, men
will start to see how their wives can help them reach their goals. This activity also starts to create a
habit of making economic decisions as a family instead of the husband deciding for himself. Since other
families in the community witness the public statement of economic goals, individual families can be
held more accountable. For example, a husband may be less likely to state in front of other families that
his real economic objective is to buy a television if his family can’t afford to send his children to school.
The description of the above activity describes the goal to be achieved, but it should not be
expected that all will go as planned from the outset. A number of potential challenges have to be taken
into consideration. At the start of implementation, buy-in might be weak. Gender roles are usually very
strongly entrenched, so the likelihood that females will be able to participate equally in conversations
might be too optimistic. Even in public gatherings, there is the potential that the community may
splinter along existing social lines. Junior wives may be even more vulnerable to isolation. These
potential challenges underline the importance of the role of project staff during these gatherings. A
15. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 15
highly trained staffer should know how to diplomatically bring people into the conversation and
encourage respect of everyone at the table. In a more extreme scenario, cultural tradition may dictate
that it is unacceptable for all members of the family to eat together. One approach that could possibly
overcome the challenge is to arrange assigned seating for each family at different tables. Providing
more structure in the arrangement of the space could prevent attendees from isolating particular
people. Finally, it might also be the case that discussing family finances in public is not considered
appropriate. In some communities, even in the U.S., family finances are a private matter. However,
formative research seems to indicate that Cameroonian culture tends to be more communal, and
therefore people might not feel uncomfortable discussing these issues publicly. Also, by branding the
meetings as an activity that will benefit the entire community, hopefully attendees will make the
connection between household economic stability and community stability.
Expected Timeline
The first and second activities described in this strategy should be implemented simultaneously.
The focus group with women should be the first step and will guide the implementation of the rest of
the project. Information gathered from these meetings should also indicate how deep gender
segregation is embedded in the community and predict the kinds of challenges the project will likely
face. If not enough women can meet for one focus group, multiple groups may need to be convened at
different times. Completing this part of the project should take about two weeks. There will then be a
lot of work to win over key stakeholders in the community who will be integral in making the project a
success. Outreach to local MFIs should start early, and multiple meetings should be held with
community leaders to win their support. When their participation has been secured, the logistics of
planning the educational program and community gatherings can begin. The length of time it takes to
put these pieces together may vary widely, depending on how difficult it is to get stakeholder support
and secure necessary resources. A reasonable estimate would be four to five months. Once classes
16. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 16
begin for women, community gatherings can also take place. The two activities should act to reinforce
one another. At this time, baseline indicators should be recorded. Each class should not extend for too
long; otherwise retention may be low. Six week courses would be enough to cover a variety of topics
while also demonstrating progress and success fairly quickly. If initial courses are successful, higher level
courses may be considered for those women who want to learn more. After three rounds of courses, a
midpoint evaluation should be done against the established indicators for both the education programs
and the gatherings. Any necessary adjustments should be made based on the results of the midpoint
evaluation. Once courses have begun, this part of the intervention would extend over nine months (a
total of six rounds of courses altogether). At the end of nine months, a final evaluation should be done
and the level of impact should be assessed in a final report.
Monitoring and Evaluation
This strategy aims at reaching two objectives in rural communities in Cameroon: decrease
women’s dependency on loans and change men’s attitudes toward seeing women as equal partners in
economic success. The former objective will be achieved by equipping women with skills to manage
money better and build their confidence in reaching their own economic objectives. The latter will help
give women more control over household income so they can use their new skills and allow them a
greater voice in their own and their children’s futures. The first objective is primarily about increasing
knowledge, and the second objective aims to change attitudes. I expect both will lead to changes in
behavior. My argument is that increasing the financial knowledge of women will cause them to be able
to save more money, pay back loans more frequently, and ultimately, increase their household incomes.
Changing men’s attitudes toward women’s equal role in financial planning will cause women to have
more control over household assets, spend more money on health and education, and achieve
increased financial independence. The proposed interventions I previously outlined will measure both
the immediate impact of the interventions on the communications objectives. This will be done with
17. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 17
the use of periodic monitoring and a pre, midpoint, and post-evaluation. To measure the program
objectives, or changes in behavior, a 12-month follow-up evaluation will also be conducted.
There are a number of factors outside the intervention that might influence behavior change
outcomes. In terms of increasing income, the same objective could be achieved under certain
conditions without an increase in a woman’s financial skills. Favorable weather conditions could
contribute to a better harvest, which would certainly increase household income. A woman’s husband
may be able to get a higher paying job, which would allow savings to increase. Additionally, other
circumstances may also contribute to women being able to make more financial decisions regardless of
whether her husband attended the community meetings proposed in the intervention. If a woman’s
husband becomes very ill, has to travel, or is otherwise absent from the house for some reason, the wife
may naturally have to fill the role of head of household. If a family begins to spend more on health and
education for the children, this might be attributed to the wife’s influence. A government policy change
may incentivize spending on health and education or some other influence outside the family may have
prompted the decision. Given all these alternative explanations, the 12-month follow-up evaluation
must include questions that prompt a woman to explain why any changes in the household have taken
place. The final evaluation should also include a report noting any system level changes in the
community which might have an effect on the economic situation of families living there. This level of
detail will strengthen the argument that any positive changes in the community were, in fact, caused by
the interventions.
To assess the program objectives, this project will use a quasi-experimental design. In the 12-
month follow-up, women will be asked to describe their financial activities over the last year, how much
income her family makes, and her level of control over finances in the home. Those who did not
participate in the intervention, either women who did not attend the trainings or whose husbands did
18. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 18
not attend the meetings, will serve as the control group. Those who did participate in the program
activities will serve as the treatment group. It might be the case that a woman did attend training, but
her husband did not attend the community meetings regularly. Under these circumstances, results will
need to be presented in way that takes this history into account. Hopefully the report will be nuanced
enough that positive changes in her household could be attributed to the financial trainings and not the
community meetings. Given the limited number of women in the community and the difficulties of
getting a large number of them to respond, this design will not use random assignment. Women will be
given the choice to participate in the evaluation or not. Only the responses from those women who
agree to participate will be included in the final results.
To evaluate the communications objectives, a pretest/posttest design with no control group will
be used. A midpoint evaluation will also be conducted to allow for any necessary adjustments in the
activities to make them more effective. In the financial trainings, only those who attend the trainings
will be evaluated. The design will be interested in measuring whether women have more financial
knowledge after the training compared to when they started. The same is true for the community
meetings. A pretest will be conducted among men to determine their initial attitudes toward their
wives and financial planning. After several months, a midpoint survey will be taken, and finally, a
posttest will be conducted to see whether or not their attitudes have changed in a positive direction. In
the case of the community meetings, the use of some qualitative data may be particularly useful.
Detailed descriptions of men’s body language, tone during discussions, and how often they contribute to
a conversation, would all be useful information that could point to changes in attitude.
A monitoring plan for both the financial training sessions and the community meetings should
be relatively simple to implement. At the beginning of each session of the training, the number of
women in attendance should be recorded. Over time, it is anticipated that the number of women who
19. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 19
want to attend the trainings should grow. It is also anticipated that those women who attend the most
sessions will also gain the most knowledge. A similar approach should be taken for the community
meetings. The names of everyone present at the meetings should be recorded. This information can
then be taken into account later to determine whether those men and women who attended the most
meetings also saw a greater amount of equality in the home.
The pretest and posttest method for the financial trainings will use a short exam based on the
determined learning objectives of the trainings. Examples of topics might be savings methods, budget
strategies, credit options, local service providers, and interest rates. The same exam should be given
both at the start of the training and the end of all the sessions. Using the same questions will the most
effective way to measure change in knowledge. The midpoint evaluation will be given after three full
sessions, at which point the students will be given the exam that includes questions on only the material
covered up to that point. The results of these exams should be assessed quickly so that, if needed,
training can be adapted to achieve better outcomes. For the community meetings, a survey will be
conducted, perhaps in the form of a group discussion where each man in the group is prompted to
answer a series of questions, to gauge their current attitude toward their wives. Indicators would
include level of agreement with the following statements (representative sample):
I want to make more money so my wife can Strongly agree Strongly disagree
work less. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I want to make more money so that my children Strongly agree Strongly disagree
will be better educated. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A man’s wife should know how much the family Strongly agree Strongly disagree
makes. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
It would be beneficial for a man’s wife to have Strongly agree Strongly disagree
her own business. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Spending on health and education is important Strongly agree Strongly disagree
for my family’s reputation. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
It is beneficial for a man’s wife to be educated. Strongly agree Strongly disagree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
20. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 20
It is beneficial for a man’s wife to seek a loan. Strongly agree Strongly disagree
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
It is beneficial to include my wife in financial Strongly agree Strongly disagree
decisions. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A qualitative report might also be conducted after the first two or three meetings. After three months,
the same questions should be posed again. At the end of six months, a post survey, ideally with the
same men, should be conducted and a post activity qualitative report could also be included.
After the initial six-month evaluation, a final evaluation should be conducted after another six
months in order to measure any behavior changes. In this approach, as many women in the community
who are willing to participate should be surveyed. It should be determined whether or not the woman
attended any training sessions and whether or not her and her husband attended the community
meetings. Two separate surveys should be conducted, one to assess financial confidence and increases
in income/savings and the other to assess the level of cooperation with the woman’s husband over
financial resources. Questions in the survey would include (representative sample):
SURVEY 1
In the last year, how much income did your family make? In the previous year?
In the last year, were you able to save money, and if so, how much?
In the last year, did you make any significant purchases? In the previous year?
In the last year, did you take out any loans, and if so, did you pay them back on time?
In the last year, how often did you seek a loan?
In the last year, do you feel you could survive without seeking a loan? In the previous year?
How comfortable would you feel managing the family’s budget?
SURVEY 2
In the past year, how many times has your husband consulted you before making purchases?
What are your spending priorities?
Who has an influence on your spending priorities?
In the past year, how often has your husband been absent from the home?
Does your husband know your spending priorities, and if so, does he agree with you?
21. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 21
In the last year, how often has your family discussed financial decisions?
In the last year, have you made a purchase without asking your husband?
Women taking both questionnaires would choose from a set list of responses, each of which would be
weighted with the more positive behavior receiving a higher number. At the end, survey responses
would be tallied and each would receive a score. A higher score would indicate a stronger positive
behavior change on both questionnaires. A low score would indicate a lack of behavior change. These
scores would then be correlated with those who did and did not participate in the respective activities
to try to determine a causal relationship. Although the survey questions should be designed to take into
account other possible influences on behavior change, the final report should also include a description
of other notable changes in the community over the past year which might have had an influence.
Ultimately, the success of the project will be based on evidence of positive behavior change
associated with those who participated in the project activities. In other words, women who attended
more training sessions will do better on the exam and score higher on Survey 1. Husbands who
attended the most meetings would have a greater positive change in attitude toward their wives, and
the same wives would score higher on Survey 2.
22. Strengthening Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cameroon 22
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