Empowerment in Transition: A Study on the Power Dynamics of Settled Pastoralist Women in Inner Mongolia

Abstract

This study examines the empowerment status of settled pastoralist women in Inner Mongolia during grassland social transformation. Using a mixed-methods approach combining the Women's Empowerment in Livestock Index (WELI) with in-depth interviews, we assess women's empowerment across six key dimensions. Our findings reveal multidimensional, non-homogeneous empowerment patterns: women maintain a high autonomy in domestic domains such as nutrition (81%) and time management (65%), while experiencing limited power over credit access (7%) and land control (20%). This study introduces the concept of "complementary empowerment" to describe this domain-specific power distribution, characterized by domain differentiation, cultural embeddedness, adaptive strategy and contextual relevance. The results indicate that settlement opportunities do not automatically translate into substantive empowerment. Policy interventions should adopt culturally sensitive approaches, address the gap between opportunities and outcomes, and balance workload with decision-making power to promote sustainable development.