The Influence of Home based Businesses on Rural Women's Social Empowerment

Subject Areas : Quarterly Journal of Woman and Society

H. سعدی ¹ (دانشیار ترویج کشاورزی، دانشگاه بوعلی سینا، همدان)
S. جلیلیان ² (کارشناس‌ارشد ترویج و آموزش کشاورزی، دانشگاه بوعلی سینا، همدان.)
A. یعقوبی‌فرانی ³ (استادیار ترویج و آموزش کشاورزی، دانشگاه بوعلی سینا، همدان)

Received: 2015-01-31 Accepted : 2015-01-31 Published : 2014-11-22

Keywords: rural women, Islamabad- Qarb County, Home based Business, Social Empowerment,

Abstract :

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the Influence of home based businesses on rural women's social empowerment. The research method was a survey and data were collected by a questionnaire and an interview. Statistical population included 265 rural women with home based business in the county of Islamabad-Qarb. The sample size consisted of 161 subjects from these rural women selected by Cochran's formula and a random sampling method. Data were collected by a structured questionnaire and an interview whose validity was verified by a group of professors and experts. The reliability of the questions were tested during a pre-test process by using a Cronbach's alpha test and it was 0.92 (α=0.92). These showed a high potential research tool for gathering information. SPSS for statistical tests and LISREL for Goodness of Fit Tests and Structural Equation Modeling were used. The results of paper showed a good and expected fitness level of the structural equation model for the rural women's empowerment. Moreover, research findings indicated that the social empowerment of 63.3 % of women studied was high and there was also a significant relationship between social empowerment and type of home based businesses.