Analyzing the effect of mothers’ empowerment on intergenerational transmission of educational achievement: Does the mother exhibit any gender bias?

Purpose The study ascertains the mothers’ empowerment level and investigates its influence on the intergenerational transmission of educational achievements. Design/methodology/approach The study uses primary data from 432 households, and the mothers’ empowerment index is constructed with six distinct dimensions using principal component analysis. The impact of mothers’ empowerment on the educational achievement of children is evaluated using multinomial logistic regression. Findings Women in the sample show a moderately high progressive attitude, and there is positive cooperation between husband and wife; the empowerment index indicates a modest level of empowerment. Results indicate that empowered women positively influence their children’s education; however, a daughter’s educational accomplishments are more impacted by maternal empowerment than a son’s. Originality/value This study introduces two important novel aspects of women’s empowerment that are absent in existing literature, i.e. husband-wife cooperation and women’s progressive attitudes; both aspects have a substantial influence on the overall level of empowerment.