Exploring Women’s Agency and Empowerment under Male Breadwinner Norms

The research examines the intersection of gender norms and economic necessity in Keti Bandar, a fishing town in Sindh, Pakistan. Despite high female labor force participation (50.5%), a strong belief persists that men should be the primary providers. The authors argue that women's empowerment in this context is derived from altruism—supporting their husbands and families—rather than from a desire for individual autonomy or resistance to patriarchal norms. This sense of empowerment is facilitated by the fact that the male breadwinner norm is maintained in discourse even as it is broken in practice. The study also highlights how environmental degradation and globalization have increased economic distress, forcing women into the labor market, while their mobility remains constrained by concerns over 'honor' and safety in public spaces.

• In Keti Bandar, there is a significant gap between gender norms in principle and in practice: while 50.5% of women are engaged in work for pay, 78.9% of women and 82.0% of men still agree that "only men should be responsible for providing income".
• The persistence of the male breadwinner norm in principle actually enables the practice of norm-breaking to be empowering, as women's work is viewed as a supportive act of necessity rather than a challenge to the marital contract.
• Environmental degradation in the Indus Delta, including seawater intrusion and the submergence of 60% of coastal subdistricts, has devastated agriculture and freshwater fishing, contributing to severe economic distress in Keti Bandar.
• Women's labor market participation is heavily constrained by the need for "respectable and safe" spaces to avoid risks to their "honor" and potential sexual predation in public areas where they would interact with men outside their community.
• Economic integration into global fisheries markets has increased the indebtedness of local fishermen, with some reportedly owing up to 50,000 USD due to the high capital requirements of trawler fishing and the influence of brokers.

APA

Memon, R., Majid, H., & Erdal, M. B. (n.d.). Exploring Women’s Agency and Empowerment under Male Breadwinner Norms. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/3f480d2d-27eb-4979-9c44-95198164d435/Memon et al 2025 Exploring womens agency pre-proofs.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Memon, Rashid, Hadia Majid, and Marta Bivand Erdal. Exploring Women’s Agency and Empowerment under Male Breadwinner Norms. Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/3f480d2d-27eb-4979-9c44-95198164d435/Memon et al 2025 Exploring womens agency pre-proofs.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Memon |first1=Rashid |last2=Majid |first2=Hadia |last3=Erdal |first3=Marta Bivand |title=Exploring Women’s Agency and Empowerment under Male Breadwinner Norms |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/3f480d2d-27eb-4979-9c44-95198164d435/Memon et al 2025 Exploring womens agency pre-proofs.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{memonndexploring, author = {Memon, Rashid and Majid, Hadia and Erdal, Marta Bivand}, title = {{Exploring Women’s Agency and Empowerment under Male Breadwinner Norms}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/3f480d2d-27eb-4979-9c44-95198164d435/Memon et al 2025 Exploring womens agency pre-proofs.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }