A Qualitative Meta-Analysis of Factors Influencing the Empowerment of Rural Women

Journal of Research and Rural Planning

مقالات آماده انتشار، پذیرفته شده، انتشار آنلاین از تاریخ 24 خرداد 1404

نوع مقاله: Review Articles

شناسه دیجیتال (DOI): 10.22067/jrrp.2025.90999.1117

نویسندگان

Saeideh Rashidi؛ Majid Yasouri^* ؛ Samira Mahmoodi

University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

چکیده

Purpose- Empowering women is essential for the development of any country across economic, social, political, and other dimensions. When a woman is empowered, she gains the opportunity to better understand and advocate for her rights, thereby enhancing her economic and social standing. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to identify and examine the most significant factors influencing the empowerment of rural women and to classify these factors based on their relative importance using a qualitative meta-analysis approach.
Method- In this study, from a total of 73 published articles on the topic of rural women's empowerment, 48 relevant articles were selected based on their alignment with the research objectives and their use of fieldwork and literature-based methodologies. The timeframe for the domestic studies ranged from 2012 to and for international studies from 2011 to 2024. Initially, the research problem and objectives were defined, and then, among the available studies, those meeting the inclusion criteria were sampled. The data extracted from these studies were then collected, coded, and categorized based on the research aims. Ultimately, the findings were standardized to a common scale to allow for comparison. The geographical scope of the selected studies included Iran, as well as countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.  
Findings- The results indicate that in the economic domain, income generation (17.1%), employment (13.8%), access to loans and banking facilities, and land ownership (9.2%) are among the most influential factors. In the socio-cultural domain, factors such as literacy and education (8.5%), cultural norms (7.6%), and knowledge and skills (6.7%) play a critical role. In the psychological domain, self-confidence (14.4%), the ability to make independent choices (9.8%), and self-esteem (8.5%) were key determinants. Politically, mobility freedom (26.1%), women's participation in managerial and governmental positions (19.1%), and restrictive governmental regulations (14.2%) were the most significant. Among these categories, political factors accounted for the largest share (12.4%), followed by economic (5.5%), psychological (3.5%), and socio-cultural (3.2%) factors in contributing to the overall empowerment of women.
Originality / Value- The findings of this study can contribute to identifying the most critical factors affecting the empowerment of rural women and can inform the development of effective support policies. Such policies may include promoting gender awareness through mass media, forming rural self-help groups through governmental and non-governmental organizations to provide social and economic support and etc.

کلیدواژه‌ها

Empowerment؛ Rural women؛ Indicators؛ Qualitative Meta-Analysis