Exploring the role of the head of household and women's empowerment in Indian families: evidence from the NFHS-5 survey data

Purpose This article explores the role of the gender of the household head in women's empowerment in Indian families. Design/methodology/approach This study used the data from the National Family Health Survey Round 5 (2019–20). A logit regression model was used to estimate the marginal effect of the gender of the household head on women's empowerment. Additionally, decomposition analysis was conducted to identify and measure the socioeconomic factors responsible for the difference in women's empowerment between two groups: (1) women-headed households and (2) men-headed households. Findings The outcome revealed a higher level of women's empowerment in women-headed households. Socioeconomic determinants such as age, caste, class, gender, education, and income significantly contribute to women's empowerment. In addition, a woman's education, her husband's education and the type of family widen the gap in women's empowerment between the two groups of households, whereas age and income class narrow the gap. Originality/value The study uncovers some of the hidden barriers to women's empowerment, which can be removed by changing the patriarchal mindset and power distribution in family and society. The other socioeconomic factors can be leveraged for equal power distribution in a family and encouraging women's empowerment.