Women’s economic empowerment

This chapter focuses on women’s economic empowerment in Tanzania, building on data collected within the framework of the SIGI Tanzania. The first section explores different aspects of women’s participation in the labour market, ranging from access to employment to the type of jobs and sectors in which they work. The section also highlights how social norms, including those limiting women’s education, and traditional views of women’s roles, affect their status and position in the labour market. The second section of the chapter examines women’s access to agricultural land, a critical productive asset in Tanzania. It assesses the current situation of women regarding ownership and control over agricultural land, highlighting recent legal changes that may yield positive benefits. The section also shows how women’s low ownership and control over land results from discriminatory customs, inheritance practices and norms that establish men as the majority owners and decision makers in this area. The chapter concludes with some concrete and actionable policy options aimed at improving women’s access to the labour market and land ownership in Tanzania.