New article published in Feminist Economics, “Female Headship and Women’s Work in Nepal”

Studies on feminization of poverty have tended to homogenize female-headed households. This article presents a mixed methods approach disaggregating the experiences of female-headed households in the post-conflict period in Nepal. One of four households in Nepal is estimated to be female-headed, either as a result of conflict-related male deaths (de jure, or widow heads) or due to male out-migration (de facto, or wives of migrants). This article by Dr. Pratistha Joshi Rajkarnikar (ECI Researcher) and Dr. Smita Ramnarain (Assistant Professor, University of Rhode Island) examines the similarities and differences in work responsibilities as well as labor market participation of de jure and de facto households. Findings show that the two households face different challenges, and that policy interventions must be specifically targeted toward each type of household.