Building a scale of rural women socio-economic empowerment in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate: An Exploratory factor analysis

Abstract

This research aimed to building a scale for the level of socio-economic empowerment of rural women in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, and to extract its validity and reliability indications. The necessary data were collected from a random sample of 377 female respondents. The data were analyzed using methods of exploratory factor analysis and descriptive statistics and using IBM SPSS 26. Based on the arbitrators' opinions, (47) out of (66) items were retained, which obtained an agreement rate of 80% or more. The results of the exploratory factor analysis resulted in eight factors that were saturated with 36 items. So, the final form of the scale consisted of 36 items and eight dimensions. The scale was reliable with Cronbach’s α for the total scale was 0. 754, which reflect acceptable reliability indicator. The results also showed that the overall average level of the socio-economic empowerment of rural women was moderate. The dimension of work and obtaining the necessary financing for its productive projects came in the first place, followed by the dimension of private ownership to increase the economic level, managing family affairs, making family decisions, economic independence, self-reliance and self-confidence, competitiveness, and finally making productive decisions. The study concluded that the scale can be trusted in revealing the level of socio-economic empowerment of rural women. The study recommended applying the scale to other samples to verify its properties.