Two out of three of the world’s poor people are female. In South Asia, more women and girls than males never have enough to eat. Unsurprisingly, life expectancy among South Asia’s women is also lower than that for males. An inquiry by UNIFEM and the Aga Khan Foundation into economic empowerment for women in South Asia set out to enquire: How does poverty among women arise? What is women’s empowerment? And how can concerned organisations best help women in developing countries overcome poverty? Researchers found that institutions can help in many ways but back-up from others tends to work best when it helps enable and empower poor women to act for themselves.