Women herders: women’s role and bargaining power in Mongolian herding households

Women’s role in herding and their empowerment in Mongolian herding households has been little studied, and their participation in decision-making can have important implications for rural households. We draw on a unique sample of 60 Mongolian herding households carried out in 2017 to provide evidence for how herding work and related decision-making is shared between husbands and wives. We extend previous work by using a much more detailed survey, asking about participation in 22 different activities related to herding and 39 decisions, and by analysing factors associated with greater participation in herding decisions by Mongolian women. We show that most herding tasks are not gendered, and, in many tasks, women contribute more time than men. Women made few herding-related decisions alone, and they participate jointly with their spouses in about half the decisions, many fewer than men. Women who contribute more to herding income through milk and cashmere production have more input into many decisions; more educated women have greater participation in some decisions. These findings suggest policy paths toward greater equality and improved outcomes in Mongolian herding households.