Participation Of Women In Decision Research Articles

Do women in politics and government efficiency enhance electricity access in Nigeria: analyzing energy prices and foreign investment

ABSTRACT Access to reliable, affordable, sustainable, and modern energy, along with the empowerment and increased participation of women in decision-making and politics, are fundamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set forth by the United Nations (UN). The UN accentuates the critical role of women in politics for the successful attainment of the SDGs. This study delves into this aspect by investigating the impact of female political representation on access to electricity. Additionally, the study examines the influence of government efficiency, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, urbanization, and economic growth in Nigeria, utilizing data spanning from 2003Q1 to 2021Q4. Employing advanced econometric techniques such as wavelet quantile regression, wavelet quantile correlation, and quantile-on-quantile Granger causality analysis, our analysis reveals noteworthy insights. Our findings reveal a correlation between heightened female political representation and decreased access to electricity in Nigeria. Additionally, we note the beneficial impacts of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, economic growth, and governmental efficiency on the accessibility of electricity. Furthermore, our quantile-on-quantile Granger causality analysis highlights the predictive capabilities of female political representation, urbanization, FDI, and economic growth regarding electricity accessibility in Nigeria. Drawing from the insights gleaned in our study, we have crafted substantial policy recommendations designed to tackle the identified challenges and promote advancements in both electricity access and women’s political engagement.

A cross-sectional study on level of participation of women in farm decision making processes: household approach in Mzimba north, Malawi.

Against the background of low women’s participation in farm decision making processes, Malawi’s agriculture sector adapted and up- scaled Household Approach, a gender transformative tool known for its impact in enhancing participation of women in farm decision making processes. In this study, participation in farm decision making is defined as the involvement of women, men and youth in decision making process in relation to visioning, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The objective of this study was to determine level of participation of women under Household Approach in farm decision making processes. This was a cross- sectional study. Using a semi-structured interview, a quantification of the extent of participation of various gender categories in decision making in various areas was determined. Thirty- three households were purposively selected due to their participation in Household Approach. Analysis of women participation in decision making, was done by computing women’s decision score. Decision score for men and youth was also computed so that a comparison is made to women’s level of participation. Women took joint decisions in all farm decision making processes with a higher participation score in household visioning (0.91) compared to men (0.83) and youth (0.44). When it came to implementing production activities of an enterprise (maize) which is a major source of their livelihood determining fulfilment of their visions, there were significant variations among their participation score in decision making in relation to maize enterprise production (χ2 (2) = 40.282, p = 0.000) with a mean rank participation score of 25.00, 39.94 and 8.56 in men, women and youth, respectively. This implies that much as implementation of maize production activities are jointly done with men, women still do a greater part of maize production work. When it came to monitoring, women had a lower participation score (0.68) compared to men (0.81), but higher than the youth (0.33). The lower participation score in monitoring among women was due to multiple roles the women have. This study recommends that sharing of roles be encouraged among peer households. Key words: Level, Women, participation, Household Approach, Farm, Decision making, Pragmatic, Cross- sectional

Influential Factors on Women's Participation in Agricultural Cooperative in the Digital Era

Digitalization has brought ease in managing the operations of organizations in the world. However, education and digital literacy become hurdles for involving marginalized people. The participation of women is crucial for the overall development of humankind. "Gender equality and women's empowerment are essential for achieving sustainable development and creating a more just and equitable world"[1]. Indeed, greater women's participation can significantly boost qualitative and quantitative output in all fields. Promoting women's participation in rural areas can significantly impact agricultural economies, including increasing food production and dairy output. However, the participation of women in decision-making, particularly in rural areas, is often limited. This paper focuses on Identifying and analyzing the factors that prevent women from playing a more significant role in rural economies, which is an essential step towards promoting women's economic empowerment and achieving more equitable and sustainable development outcomes in the digital era. The study's finding suggests that education levels, lack of adequate training, and household work are key factors that limit the participation of women.

Achieving Gender Equality through Women Empowerment in India: A Study in the Context of Sustainable Development.

According to UN data, women and girls constitutes 50% of the world’s population and therefore, half of mankind’s potential. The 5th Sustainable Development Goal is about achieving gender equality and empowering women. However, existing literature suggests that widespread gender inequality acts as a hinderance to sustainable development. This study aims at uncovering the role of women empowerment in achieving gender equality and thereby ensuring sustainable development in India. Qualitative methodology and secondary sources are employed to collect data. According to published studies, contribution of women work force towards economic development of the country is less compared to men work force. Similarly, in the political sphere men dominates and participation of women in decision making process is comparatively less. Women related violence and crime has increased manifolds in the past decade. Studies also state that women participation in climate change dialogue is also less in India. This study concludes that unless women are not empowered and gender equality is not achieved, women cannot play a significant role in economic, political, social, and environmental spheres. And to achieve sustainable development recognizing only men’s contributions will not suffice. Hence, this study tries to draw the attention of the policy makers to commit and work towards women empowerment and utilize the potential of the entire country to attain sustainable development.

Emotion classification using EEG signal for women safety application based on deep learning

An emotion is a conscious logical response that varies for different situations in women’s life. These mental responses are caused by physiological, cognitive, and behavioral changes. Gender-based violence undermines the participation of women in decision-making, resulting in a decline in their quality of life. More accurate and automatic classification of women’s emotions can enhance human-computer interfaces and security in real time. There are some wearable technologies and mobile applications that claim to ensure the safety of women. However, they rely on limited social action and are ineffective at ensuring women’s safety when and where it is needed. In this work, a novel CDB-LSTM network has been proposed to accurately classify the emotions of women in seven different classes. The electroencephalogram (EEG) offers non-radioactive methods of identifying emotions. Initially, the EEG signals are preprocessed and they are converted into images via Time-Frequency Representation (TPR). A smoothed pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution (SPWVD) is employed to convert the EEG time-domain signals into input images. Consequently, these converted images are given as input to the Convolutional Deep Belief Network (CDBN) for extracting the most relevant features. Finally, Bi-directional LSTM is used for classifying the emotions of women into seven classes namely: happy, relax, sad, fear, anxiety, anger, and stress. The proposed CDB-LSTM network preserves the high accuracy range of 97.27% in the validation phase. The proposed CDB-LSTM network improves the overall accuracy by 6.20% 32.98% 6.85% and 3.30% better than CNN-LSTM, Multi-domain feature fusion model, GCNN-LSTM and CNN with SVM and DT respectively.

Role of women in decision making: a case study of Pakhtuns of Tehkal, Peshawar, Pakistan

This paper discusses women's decision-making role in the affluent patriarchal households of Pakhtuns. The patriarchy is popularly believed to be an impediment for women to participate in decision-making at the household level. The study analyses the participation of women in decision-making related to children's spouse selection, education and health, and family planning. The study also focused on women's role in decision-making related to household expenditure and the purchase of household items and immovable property. The study was qualitative, and participant observation and in-depth interviews were used as data collection tools. The study found that women's age, education, marital status, marriage duration, and family structure determine women's decision-making. The study reveals that despite the patriarchal system of households in affluent Pakhtun households, women participated in the decisions making. They participated in decision-making related to children's health, education, and selection of the spouse for their children. Women had a say in family planning. They also participated in the decisions related to household expenditure and purchasing household items. Participation of women in decisions related to the purchase of immovable items was limited.

Women’s Behaviour and Standard of Living before and after Joining the SHGs in Satna District of Madhya Pradesh, India

The study pertains to the study of impact of SHGs on women’s Behaviour and standard of living before and after joining the SHGs in Satna District of Madhya Pradesh reveals that Women always remained in backstage because of their passive involvement in decision making. In rural areas women can’t get as much as freedom as compared to men, they are always suppressed and men are always dominant. But, after the introduction of SHGs rural women are involving in it. being an effective medium for community involvement in developmental activities, can be a powerful tool for alleviating rural poverty through the empowerment of women, by freeing themselves from the clutches of usurious moneylenders. Due to the existing patriarchal norms, they have excluded from the decision- making the process even at their households. Self-help groups brought a whole new platform for women empowerment. It covered almost all aspects of empowerment (social, political, economic). Self-help group improved the qualitative and quantitative participation of women in decision making. This study will help to know the real impact of SHGs and grassroots level development is needed to make our women empowered.

Affirmative Policy in Nepal’s Community Forestry: Does it Make a Difference in Terms of Social Sustainability?

Decentralized forest management is criticized for not involving women in decision-making. The study explores what the introduction of affirmative policy in community forestry committees means for the participation of women in decision making in four cases in the middle hills of Nepal. The qualitative analysis of interviews and observations draws on feminist political ecology, a women’s participation typology, the critical mass theory and gender justice. The findings centre on the importance of electoral procedures, the role of authorities, the role of the familial context and whether and how women internalized and contested patriarchal norms. The women’s quota was found to have had as yet little impact on substantive participation, yet the enhanced exposure of female committee members to the discrepancy between the gender equality discourse introduced in community forestry and the persistent male domination seemed to create, in a few women performing as critical actors, an enhanced awareness of male suppression; an awareness that is a prerequisite for contestation of those patriarchal norms denying women access to power over forest and, generally speaking, of gender injustice. This research reports examples of women, brought in the executive committees by the studied affirmative policies, successfully contesting traditional gender roles and gender injustice, negotiating for them and for the other women, a more effective and meaningful participation in the management of Community Forests.

PERAN WANITA PADA USAHA PENGOLAHAN IKAN ASAP DI KELURAHAN MANGGAR BARU KECAMATAN BALIKPAPAN TIMUR KOTA BALIKPAPAN

The purpose of the study was to determine the motivation of women to work, analyze The Participation of women in decision making and analyze the contribution of women's income to family income in the smoked fish processing business. This research was conducted in Manggar Baru Village, East Balikpapan District, Balikpapan City. The sample used is the processing of smoked fish in Manggar Baru Village totaling 6 processors, the sampling method used is the census method. The data analysis method used is descriptive analysis method and income analysis. The results of this study indicate that women's motivation is divided into 2, namely internal ; driving factors the wife chooses to work because it is based on decisions that arise due to unfulfilled own desires and external ; driving factors the family is mutually supportive and helps in processing activities. The Participation of women in the production process is (100%), the husband's role in buying raw materials is (33%) and The Participation of husband and wife in strengthening capital is (33%). The Participation of women in making decisions to work in processing businesses ranging from investment/capital to fishery businesses, management of processing businesses to marketing of fishery products, wife's decision making is greater (67%). The contribution of women's income in helping to increase family income is high with an average of (80%).
 
 Keywords : Smoked Fish Processing, Women's Participation, Motivation, Decision Making, Income Contribution.

“Doing Gender”: Women Labor Migration and Households Transition in Nepal

The increasing trend of women migration in transnational space doesn’t open a new discourse in global labor market but also assists in social construction of gender. Though government of Nepal doesn’t have any objection over men migration but it dispirited female labor migration due to various reasons. The growing incidents of physical assault in foreign land and patriarchal ideology such as: prevalence of male breadwinners, female homemaker, managing work within the domestic space and cultural restrictions restricts on women to participate in public spaces. This paper examines the reconstruction of households structure and the changing roles, with a focus on gendered power relation in the slum community of Pokhara Metropolitan City, Nepal. Particular, attention is paid to the transformation of breadwinner power of men to women and increasing women participation in decision making process. The evidences presented here use data from both secondary literature and primary sources. The data have been purposively selected from the 199 households of the women migrants families who have been migrated at least three years before the study conducted in between March and July 2022. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were chosen for the data collection and analysis. The results explain changing scenario of gender role and households transition due to access of social, cultural and economic capital accumulated by migrants. Once women depart for labor migration, the family left behind especially mother and husband are more responsible to carry both inside as well as outside activities along with childcare. In joint family, mother/mother-in-laws were replacing the role of migrant and doing migrants tasks; whereas in nuclear family husbands is more responsible for all conducts performed by their wives and acts as like that. The study also provides a more nuanced understanding of the involvement of migrants women in decision-making power in household’s domain and the way of dealing with upcoming socio-cultural obstacles that hinder their participation in public sphere.

Influence of Income Generating Activities and Resource Accessibility on Empowerment of Women in Makueni County

There is need to establish the role played by NGOs in promoting women empowerment and how this leads to reduction of the socio-economic vulnerability of women. Because of the low participation of women in decision making process, control over ownership and access of resources and wealth, increased poverty levels, increased cases of gender-based violence. This has necessitated the need to establish the role of NGOs in women empowerment in Makueni County. The specific objectives of the study were to establish the effect of income generating activities and the resource availability on women empowerment. The anchor theory for this study is the Women Empowerment Framework by Sara Longwe and the other theory used in the study include Kabeers 3-dimensional model. The study population was 60 women groups in Kalawa ward, Makueni County who have benefited from the NGOs programs. The total number of respondents were 1254 and a sample size of 294 was used. The study found that there was an influence of income generating activities on women empowerment. A unit increase in income generating activities was found to increase women empowerment by 0.323 units. The study also found that there was there was a negative influence of resource accessibility on women empowerment, implying that a unit increase in resource accessibility decreases women empowerment by 0.152 units. The study recommendations are that NGOs, National and County Governments to provide linkage to markets for the products from the income generating activities by women groups. Both Government and NGOs should develop frameworks to engage women in development agenda. Keywords: Women Empowerment, Income Generating Activities, Resource Availability

Effects of Financial Inclusion and Awareness Creation on Women Empowerment in Kalawa Ward, Makueni County-Kenya

Despite the ever-increasing number of NGOs in Makueni County aimed at socio-economic empowerment of women, gender inequalities are persistent and poverty levels are high. This is evident by low participation of women in decision making process, control over ownership and access of resources and wealth, increased poverty levels, increased cases of gender-based violence. This has necessitated the need to establish the role of NGOs in women empowerment in Makueni County. The purpose of the study was to establish the role of NGOs in financial inclusion of women and the creation of awareness on property rights for women. The anchor theory for this study is the Women Empowerment Framework by Sara Longwe and the other theories used in the study include Kabeers 3-dimensional model; the public goods theory of financial inclusion. The study population was 60 women groups in Kalawa ward, Makueni County who have benefited from the NGOs programs. The total number of respondents were 1254 and a sample size of 294 was used. The findings revealed that financial inclusion and awareness creation on the right to own resources and property influence women empowerment. The focus group discussions highlighted that the NGOs are doing very little in regards to awareness creation on the right of ownership of resources and property. Women cited that discrimination, being left out of development agenda, illiteracy and patriarchal nature of the society as the major challenge. The study recommendations were that NGOs, National and County Governments should provide linkage to markets for the products from the income generating activities by women groups. Both Government and NGOs should develop frameworks to engage women in development agenda. Keywords: Women Empowerment, Financial Inclusion, Awareness Creation, NGOs, Makueni County.

Women participation in formal decision-making: Empirical evidence from participatory forest management in Ethiopia

Amid growing emphasis on community-based approaches to natural resource management, there are concerns about the lack of women participation in communal decision-making. We analyze the association between participation of women in decision-making of forest user groups in Ethiopia and several forest management outcomes. We combine longitudinal survey, administrative and forest inventory data and find that participation of women in executive committees (i.e., formal decision-making) is associated with greater forest benefits, and an improved (perceived and actual) condition of the forest. Alternatively, the association between women participation in group-level meetings and outcomes is not robust. This implies that women participation in formal decision-making is required to reach forest conservation and livelihood gains.

Impact of Income Generation of Home Based Workers on Women Empowerment (A Study of Shahdra and Herbanspura Towns of Lahore, Pakistan)

Women Empowerment is promoting women's sense of self-worth, their ability to determine their own choices, and their right to influence social change for themselves and others. This study focuses on exploration of the nature and degree of participation of women in decision making and the impact of income generation on decision making of Home Based workers (HBWs). Home-based worker‟ refers to the general category of workers, within the informal or unorganized sector, who carry out remunerative work within their homes or in the surrounding grounds. However, the term „home-based work‟ encompasses a wide diversity. Home-based workers do piecework for an employer, who can be a subcontractor, agent or a middleman, or they can be self-employed on their own or in family enterprises. The methodology design for the present study was based on the quantitative techniques. The study of home-based workers is based on the findings of a survey of 100 women undertaken in Shahdhra and Herbanspura. The sample covered a whole range of social and income classes. Combined information on women and their households were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire. The interview schedule comprised questions on earnings, ethnic affiliation, education, age, sex and division of domestic responsibilities, and employment histories of individual women, using the cluster-purposive sampling technique for the present study. Survey was conducted and a semi structured questionnaire was designed to gather the required information. The finding derived in the study showed that solely income could not empower women but still it is raising their participation in decision-making. It has improved their say in the matters of their family but income cannot be said as the alone factor as the factors like age, marital status, family structures and other socio-cultural factors also have great impact on decision making of HBWs. Key words: Women Empowerment, Decision making, Household, Socio-cultural factors

Beijing Platform for Action: Critical Milestones to Eradication of Barriers to Women Participation in Decision Making in Kenya

Beijing Platform for Action: Critical Milestones to Eradication of Barriers to Women Participation in Decision Making in Kenya

Participation of Women in Decision Making and Proprietorship Primarily in Microfinance Institutions

Participation of Women in Decision Making and Proprietorship Primarily in Microfinance Institutions

Las mujeres, defensoras de la igualdad y el cuidado de la naturaleza

En el marco filosófico, jurídico y político del Estado de Derecho moderno las mujeres, la mitad de la humanidad, han sido excluidas, les ha sido negado el valor ético suficiente para ser portadoras de derechos, esto es, sujeto de derechos. Ello impulsó la acción de las mujeres para analizar su situación y defender su valor y sus derechos en condiciones de igualdad y no discriminación respecto a los hombres. El avance del movimiento feminista desde el siglo XVIII, cuando fueron expulsadas de la Asamblea política germen de la primera declaración de derechos humanos, hasta la segunda mitad del siglo XX, cuando fueron reconocidas a nivel universal como sujeto pleno de derechos, muestra el continuo desarrollo filosófico-jurídico de la conciencia de la humanidad, de la ética y de los derechos humanos. Desde el desarrollo de la justicia social y ecológica, el pensamiento jurídico feminista actual reconoce la amenaza de la realidad ecológica y de la realidad de las mujeres e implica propuestas alternativas de la vida en la Tierra basadas, en la sostenibilidad social y ecológica, en la lucha contra la violencia, y en la participación de las mujeres en la toma de decisiones. Esta nueva perspectiva integradora superadora de la visión cartesiana de un mundo dividido es defendida por el ecofeminismo. In the modern origin of the Rule of Law, the Rechtsstaat formula, women were excluded from its philosophical, legal and political dimension, they were denied the value and sufficient ethical condition to be bearers of rights, that is, subjects of rights. This prompted action by women to analyze their situation and defend their value and rights in conditions of equality and non-discrimination with men. The advance of the feminist movement from the 18th century, when women were expelled from the political Assembly, the seed of the first declaration of human rights, to the second half of the 20th century, when they were universally recognized as full subject of rights, shows the continuous philosophical-legal development of the conscience of humanity, of ethics and of human rights. The current feminist legal thinking, from the development of social and ecological justice, recognizes the threat of ecological reality and the reality of women, it implies alternative proposals of life on Earth based on social and ecological sustainability, in the fight against violence and in the participation of women in decision-making. This new integrative perspective of a divided world is defended by ecofeminism.

PERCEIVED EFFECTS OF MICROFINANCE ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN LANKWANTANANG-MADINA MUNICIPALITY

This paper examines the impact of microfinance on women empowerment through a cross-sectional survey with a total of 189 respondents in La-Nkwantanang municipality. Paired sample t-test was performed to analyse the situation before and after joining Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) to access credit facilities. Women empowerment is measured using three indicators namely: standard of living; generation of income from business operation; and participation in decision making at the family level. The main effects of microfinance services computed using the summated scale were found to suggest an improved standard of living with an average mean score of 1.5234 and standard deviation of 0.84099, improvement in business operations with a score of 1.4769 and standard deviation of 0.98718 and enhanced participation of women in decision making with a mean of 1.38378 and standard deviation of 0.98287. The paired sample test results indicated a p-value of 0.000 which is less than 5% (p<0.05). This study confirms the view that access to micro credit after joining MFIs, increased participants’ incomes and savings, improved their standard of living and increased their participation in decision making within the family. Based on the findings, it is recommended that MFIs should expand their financial advisory services to ensure the prudent utilisation of micro credit. Government must design appropriate micro credit policies that support this expansion. Keywords: Microfinance, Women Empowerment, Survey, Ghana

Autonomy and Decision-making Ability among Gujjar Women of Kashmir: A Study of Khan Sahib Tehsil in District Budgam

The present study investigates the level of empowerment among tribal women in terms of their participation in the decision-making process and to identify the factors that affect their level of participation. Fifty women from the Gujjar community of Kashmir Valley were selected through a purposive sampling technique. The interview and case study methods were employed for collecting data from the potential participants. The study revealed that tribal women’s right to make decisions was confined to minor household issues only. A significant positive correlation was also noted between family size, type of family, age, level of education, employment status and participation of the tribal women in decision-making.

Women Participation in Eri culture with Special Reference to Kamrup District of Assam

A study was conducted during 2017-18 in Kamrup district of Assam to know the participation of women in eri culture. Data were collected purposively from 120 women engaged in eri culture through personal contact method by using the pre-structured interview schedule from three development blocks viz., Chhaygaon, Rampur and Chayani Borduwa. It was revealed that all the women were involved in eri silkworm rearing, followed by feeding, bed cleaning and moulting care (95.83%), leaf harvesting (91.67%), cooking of cocoon and spinning (88.33%) and disinfection (85.00%). A total of 81.67 per cent women faced the problem of leaf crisis during winter months. Participation of women in decision making varied from procurement of disease free laying (85.83%) to nutrient management (27.50%). The study also inferred that training need is prominent in most of the activities of eri culture.