Spatial geographies, socio-demographic factors and social trust in women's organisations in Africa

Abstract

This article assesses the relationship between spatial geographies and socio-demographic factors and social trust in women's organisations in the 10 African countries included in the Wave 6 of the World Values Survey. First, we investigate the extent to which trust in women's organisations varies across African countries and attempt to identify possible sources for these variations. Second, we examine the extent to which individual-level socio-demographic factors predict confidence in women's organisations in Africa. We find that trust in women's organisations differs significantly across African countries, with Ghana and Egypt having the highest and lowest level of trust. Again, individuals with upper social class, secondary education, religious backgrounds, complicated marital status (widowed, divorced, separated), and women demonstrated high confidence in women's movements in Africa. Conversely, lower middle-class individuals had low confidence in women's movements. We conclude that spatial disparities and socio-demographic factors have an association with generalised trust in women's organisations.