CANBERRA — The focus of the Market Development Facility within the Australian aid program is to foster private sector investment to support development objectives in the Indo-Pacific region — including improving income for women.
Managed by Palladium for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, MDF plays an important role in creating aid impact through women’s economic empowerment.
In a new report, Beyond Income: A Critical Analysis of Agency Measurement in Economic Programming, MDF has developed a practical framework to address a long-standing issue in development programs supporting women’s economic empowerment — measuring and monitoring agency and access. Access represents a woman’s ability to tap in to opportunities, goods, information, and networks, while agency is the ability to make and act on economic decisions.