This blog post asserts that to help women—especially young women—empower themselves to choose contraceptive options, governments, the private sector, schools, and other institutions and individuals with the ability to change women’s lives should foster environments allowing them to be active agents of their own lives. This requires changing social norms so that gender equality is a reality; guaranteeing educational and employment opportunities that help level the playing ground for women and girls; and providing access to capital for women’s small businesses, agriculture, and other opportunities.

Using data collected from a sample of 325 urban Ghanaian women (ages 15 to 24), this study examined associations between two adapted reproductive autonomy subscales—decisionmaking and communication—and women’s use of modern contraceptives at last sex. It concludes that the reproductive autonomy construct, particularly the decisionmaking subscale, demonstrates relevance for family planning outcomes among young women in Ghana and may have utility in global settings.