Despite the existence of women’s empowerment strategies since the late nineties and qualified women in decision-making positions in charge of implementing them, these strategies failed to significantly improve women’s conditions and the situation of Yemeni women in the Republic of Yemen remains dismal. This article attempts to explain this failure through a mixed-method approach, surveying and interviewing Yemeni women leaders who were involved as authority figures or people of influence between 2006 and 2014 in said strategies. Findings from this research have strong policy implications on future development and gender equality policies in the country placing the experiences of women as policy makers, activists, advocates at the center of the analysis.