Do families led by women prosper more?

In Africa, more women are heads of households than ever before – either as single unmarried women, divorced, separated or widows, data from DHS surveys in 24 countries in Africa and published by the World Bank shows. You might think that this is a disadvantage, as the general understanding is that female headed households are poorer and experience more hardship than those headed by men. A recent report by UNFPA indicated that due to their unequal employment opportunities and predominance in low-paid occupations, women are particularly vulnerable to economic insecurity and financial dependence. Household surveys show that women of working age are more likely than men to live in a poor household in 41 out of 75 countries with data. But that’s not the whole story.