Exploring the Linkages Between Women’s Paid and Unpaid Work and Their Experiences of Intimate Partner and Non-Partner Violence in Nepal

ABSTRACT

Economic bargaining models contend that women’s paid work reduces violence experienced due to increased bargaining power, while male backlash models argue that violence is likely to increase as the traditional male breadwinner role is threatened. The empirical linkages between women working for pay and experiencing men’s violence are also mixed. This study examines the association between women’s paid work participation and their experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) and non-partner violence (NPV). It uses multivariate probit regressions to analyze survey data from 937 randomly selected women members of cooperative societies spanning the seven districts of Nepal. The paper hypothesizes that in a traditional setting like Nepal, working women are more likely to experience increased violence as they transgress traditional gender roles. Results suggest that employed women experience both IPV and NPV. Investments in longitudinal studies are needed to understand the point at which economic empowerment yields reversals in violence experienced.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Women’s work statuses influence their experiences of different forms of men’s violence in Nepal.

• Women’s paid work participation is not necessarily protective against violence by increasing their bargaining power.

• Women’s employment may increase exposure to violence because of underlying gender hierarchies.

• Longitudinal research is needed to understand when economic empowerment may avert violence.

KEYWORDS:

• Women’s work
• paid employment
• violence
• bargaining models
• male backlash
• Nepal

JEL Codes:

• C70
• D10

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The research was funded as part of the project Women Work and Violence funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). However, the views expressed are solely those of the author and not DFID.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Neetu A. John

Neetu A. John is Assistant Professor of Population and Family Health at the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She specializes in population and reproductive health and has worked for over a decade in Africa and Asia designing and implementing complex research studies such as randomized control trials (RCT) and impact evaluations, nationally representative population-based surveys, and qualitative studies. Dr. John’s work explores issues such as women’s empowerment, gender-based violence, household dynamics, spousal relationship quality, child marriage, reproductive and economic empowerment in low- and middle-income countries.