Influence of a first-born child’s gender over mother’s bargaining power and household status

Abstract

Due to the prevalence of patriarchy in Bangladesh many families do not give women the equal decision-making rights as their husbands. Many studies have found that a woman’s bargaining power in the household is greatly dependent on her fertility output. So, this study uses five decision-making indicators and six women empowerment indicators to see whether having a firstborn son improves a woman’s status in the family. By using the Bangladesh 2017-18 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) this paper found that there is no significant effect of having a firstborn son for having a higher bargaining power. This study also shows women’s age, education, and earnings are the main determinants of having a higher status in the family.