Rural Development
Masoud Yazdanpanah; Kazhal Khedri; Masoumeh Forouzani; Masoud Baradaran
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing women’s participation in social, economic, and political activities in rural areas of Likak city. Target population of this study is active rural women of 15 to 64 years old in Likak city. Based on Morgan table, 300 women were ...
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The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing women’s participation in social, economic, and political activities in rural areas of Likak city. Target population of this study is active rural women of 15 to 64 years old in Likak city. Based on Morgan table, 300 women were selected as sample using a random sampling method. We have used a questionnaire as data collection instrument which its validity was confirmed by a group of experts and its reliability was evaluated by Cronbach alpha coefficients (0.73-0.94). The results of this study have indicated the high mean of women’s participation in social, economic and political activities in the rural society. Moreover, the results have also revealed that there is negative correlation between economic, political and social participations and a number of key variables such as gender stereotype, farmer identity and housewife identity. The results of structural equation modeling analysis have showed that self-efficacy and housewife identity have positive effect on participation intention. In addition, gender stereotype has negative effect on social, economic and political participations. The model explained 85% of the variance in economical participation, 77% of that in social participation, and 69% in political participation. Therefore, it is recommended to give value to the activities of housewives in society and media and to create material and moral rights for these activities. Holding the meeting of housewives with active and successful women can increase women's self-efficacy.
