Democratic Republic of Congo Report: Pushing the Boundaries: Understanding Women’s Participation and Empowerment

Trócaire undertook three year multi-country research on women’s participation and empowerment.

Empowerment was defined in the research as the process of pushing against the boundaries to shape new fields of possible action, by increasing the capacity of those with less power to engage with those with more power.

The research was undertaken in three countries, Democratic Republic of Congo, India and Nicaragua, implementing governance and gender equality programmes through local partner organisations.

It set out to better understand how participation contributes to processes of empowerment and the reduction of oppressive power relations between men and women, as well as citizens and the state.