This article provides a critical analysis of the conceptualisation of women's empowerment through employment (and later decent work) from the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing Platform for Action through to the Millennium Development Goals, the Decent Work Agenda and current proposals for the post-2015 Development Agenda. The article focuses on the context of rural women. Through a historical overview of the increasing importance placed on employment and the ‘world of work’ for poverty reduction and women's empowerment within the development discourse, the article analyses the implications and gaps of prevailing approaches. The article also provides recommendations to enhance the potential of rural employment and decent work in promoting women's empowerment, including with specific reference to the debates around the post-2015 Development Agenda.