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Exploring Links between Women's Business Ownership and Empowerment among Maasai Women in Tanzania

Exploring Links between Women's Business Ownership and Empowerment among Maasai Women in Tanzania Despite increasing interest and effort to support women's empowerment globally, women remain a severely disadvantaged group in nearly every country throughout the globe. In the current study, we examine the relationship between women's participation in financial markets and different indices of empowerment. Questionnaires were administered to three groups of Maasai women (N = 224) living in rural, northern Tanzania: women who were members of cooperatively owned business groups, women who owned businesses independently via microcredit loans, and women who did not own businesses. Group difference tests revealed that cooperative business owners reported higher levels of agency than independent owners, and lower levels of partner control and greater involvement in financial decision making than nonbusiness owners. Independent owners reported greater involvement in financial decision making, and lower levels of agency than nonowners. Additionally, results from structural equation models demonstrated that participation in cooperatives, versus independent or nonbusiness ownership, was associated with fewer experiences of domestic violence and enhanced psychological well‐being via the effects of partner control, agency, and financial decision making. Policy implications regarding the importance of considering cultural norms and what may be required to facilitate a transformative context for women are discussed. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Analyses of Social Issues & Public Policy Wiley

Exploring Links between Women's Business Ownership and Empowerment among Maasai Women in Tanzania

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References (59)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2016 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
ISSN
1529-7489
eISSN
1530-2415
DOI
10.1111/asap.12091
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Despite increasing interest and effort to support women's empowerment globally, women remain a severely disadvantaged group in nearly every country throughout the globe. In the current study, we examine the relationship between women's participation in financial markets and different indices of empowerment. Questionnaires were administered to three groups of Maasai women (N = 224) living in rural, northern Tanzania: women who were members of cooperatively owned business groups, women who owned businesses independently via microcredit loans, and women who did not own businesses. Group difference tests revealed that cooperative business owners reported higher levels of agency than independent owners, and lower levels of partner control and greater involvement in financial decision making than nonbusiness owners. Independent owners reported greater involvement in financial decision making, and lower levels of agency than nonowners. Additionally, results from structural equation models demonstrated that participation in cooperatives, versus independent or nonbusiness ownership, was associated with fewer experiences of domestic violence and enhanced psychological well‐being via the effects of partner control, agency, and financial decision making. Policy implications regarding the importance of considering cultural norms and what may be required to facilitate a transformative context for women are discussed.

Journal

Analyses of Social Issues & Public Policy – Wiley

Published: Dec 1, 2016

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