The research team first identify key relationships and stakeholders in women’s lives both in the public and private sphere (i.e. family, partners, neighbors, employers, civil service officers, etc.).

Through interviews, the team then asks these stakeholders about the person’s knowledge about CARE’s intervention, and the stakeholder’s views about changes among women participants.

Example

In CARE Mali’s SII about a specific village savings and loans intervention, researchers ask the following questions:

Their knowledge of CARE’s intervention:

• In general do you know about CARE’s work here (i.e. goal, activities, etc.)?
• In general, what are your impressions of these groups/activities?
• Have your views been the same since the activities started? (Please explain.)
• What is your opinion about these activities and their management in your community? (Please explain.)
• Have you ever taken any actions in favor of or against these activities?
• Are any women in your household currently participating in these activities?
  • Do you hope that these women continue to be a part of these groups/activities?
• What could be obstacles against women’s participation in these groups/activities?
• What have been the changes (positive or negative) brought for you?
  • And for the women themselves?
  • In terms of standards of living in the household?
  • In terms of relations between men and women?
  • In the status of women, of the couple and of norms?
  • In the community or in local institutions?

Changes among women participants:

• Have you noticed any changes in the competencies or capacities of women in your household since their membership in groups/activities?
  • Probe→ Can you give some examples?
  • Probe→ How has this affected the household?
• Have you noticed any differences in the way in which women manage revenue and household goods? To what are these changes due?
• Have you noticed changes in the degree of participation of women group members in community life? What are some examples of this?
• Have women members taken more leadership roles alongside men? Why? And what are your thoughts/feelings about this?
• Do you think that women members know and are better able to uphold their rights? In what way?
  • Probe→ If yes, what do you think of this?
• In general, have you noticed a reduction of ___(dowry, early marriage, violence against women or other issues of interest) within the past __ years?
  • Probe→ Why is this?
• In general what do you think of all these changes?

Following these questionnaires, responses may then be brought back to women participants to learn their impressions of such changes, and contribute to her self-reflection and self-understanding.

Responses also helped to understand factors the both support and restrain women’s empowerment within the context of programming.