Zimbabwe Records Revolutionary Shift Towards Women Economic Empowerment

Online Herald Reporter

June 8, 2025

IN the heart of Zimbabwe’s ongoing economic transformation, data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2023–24, conducted by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat), reveals a quiet revolutionary shift in women’s access to productive economic assets.

Across the country, women aged 15–49 are staking their claim on land, property and digital finance in numbers that while still trailing men’s, point to the beginning of a broader social and economic emancipation.

“Thirty-two percent of women age 15–49 own a house, either alone or jointly with someone else, while 24 percent report owning land (2 percent independently and 22 percent jointly),” ZimStat finds, underscoring the importance of property ownership as the foundation of financial autonomy.

Among those who do possess formal documentation of ownership, however, an alarming gender gap persists.

“Among those who do possess a title/deed, more men than women have their names listed on the deed, 25 percent versus 18 percent respectively. A similar trend is observed in land ownership, with 24 percent of men and 12 percent of women having their names on the title/deed,” ZimStat added.

For rural women, the picture is surprisingly more encouraging. In the countryside, “45 percent of rural women own a house, either alone or jointly, as compared with 17 percent of urban women. Furthermore, 38 percent of rural women own land, either alone or jointly, compared with 8 percent of urban women,” the survey reports, suggesting that traditional communal structures may still favour women’s access to family lands and dwellings.

However, these gains do not erase the fact that among respondents age 15–49 who own a house, 70 percent of women and 72 percent of men report not having a title or deed, an indicator that formalisation of property rights must become a national priority.

Tendai Chikowore, gender rights advocate and founder of the Harare-based non-governmental organisation Women’s Futures argued that land and house ownership serve as the most tangible form of economic security for women, who in Zimbabwe’s patriarchal society have long been excluded from inheritance and credit markets.

“Ownership gives them collateral, bargaining power within the household and the psychological confidence to engage in entrepreneurial activities. Without the name on the title deed, women remain vulnerable to displacement and lose access to credit. Formal recognition must accelerate if we are to see real shifts in household decision-making and intergenerational wealth transfer,” she said.

Beyond bricks and mortar, the DHS underscores women’s entry into the digital economy. “In Zimbabwe, 79 percent of women and 80 percent of men age 15–49 own a mobile phone. In addition, 58 percent of women and men own a smartphone,” the survey revealed.

Empowerment extends to financial inclusion and it was found out that, “In the 12 months prior to the survey, 46 percent of women and men used a mobile phone for financial transactions. Also, 16 percent of women and 24 percent of men age 15–49 reported having and using a bank account, while 13 percent of women and 21 percent of men made deposits or withdrawals in the 12 months before the survey.”

This digital divide, while narrower than that of property, still reveals a persistent gender gap in formal banking.

“Women in urban areas are more likely than those in rural areas to have and use bank accounts 23 percent versus 10 percent respectively. Similarly, 40 percent of men in urban areas have and use bank accounts, as compared with 13 percent of those in rural areas,” ZimStat reported.

As mobile-money services proliferate, however, the door to affordable, low-barrier financial products are swinging wider, especially for women without access to traditional brick-and-mortar banks.

Mr Raymond Madziva, a banker, observed that, “Mobile-money platforms are a game-changer for women entrepreneurs, who often face discrimination at bank counters. With a mobile phone, even the smallest market trader can send and receive payments, build a transaction history and eventually graduate to micro-loans.”

The DHS 2023–24 findings present a nuanced picture that women in Zimbabwe are making strides in property ownership and digital finance, however, significant barriers remain. Formal documentation, equitable inclusion on title deeds and gender-responsive financial products stand as the next frontiers in the struggle for economic equality.