Are Women Poorer? Empirical Insights from Rural Odisha

The present study assesses the status and determinants of multidimensional poverty in eight blocks of Jagatsinghpur district. Five socio-economic dimensions comprising fifteen indicators have been considered to construct the Multidimensional Poverty Index, using the Alkire-Foster Method at the individual level. Assessment of multidimensional poverty at the block level and for women for the first time in Odisha justifies the study's novelty. The study revealed the skewed distribution of multidimensional poverty towards women. Women are more deprived in comparison to men in education, employment, asset ownership, possession of agricultural land, and organization of community-level activities. Variation in multidimensional poverty is also observed across eight blocks under study. Binomial logistic regression analysis indicates the significant negative effect of age, education, and occupation on multidimensional poverty. The findings of the study suggest not only the reorientation of government policies in increasing women’s educational level, employability skills, and appropriate self-employment opportunities through women's self-help groups but also their strict implementation to empower women and reduce multidimensional poverty.