The Role of Livelihood Choices on Women Economic Empowerment, the Case of Kilte Awlaelo Woreda, Tigray Region, Ethiopia
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Feminist poverty is not only consequence of lack of income, but also the result of the deprivation of capabilities and gender biases. In Ethiopia, the women particularly the female-headed households suffer from economic poverty, social discrimination, and cultural challenges which undermine their human worth and dignity. This paper attempts to investigate the determinants of women economic empowerment in Ethiopia by examining the situation prevailing in one particular woreda kilte Awlaelo in Tigray region using the information gained from 196 women. Since the women economic empowerment level determined by different demographic and socioeconomic factors, this paper attempts Tobit model analysis to explore the possible determinants of the women economic empowerment. The result shows that the women economic empowerment level is considerably influenced by age, family size, education, access to media, asset holdings, marital status, livelihood choices, job training, access to credit service, access to self-help group, access to safety net, access to women group and transportation service. Apart from the other economic empowerment variables, a variable farming livelihood choice shows significant positive impact on the economic empowerment level. Additionally, to test the independency of asset holdings of the households across different livelihood choices (farming, trade and daily labor) chi square test were used; besides, to compare mean value of women economic empowerment level across livelihood choices ANOVA test were used. Finally, it recommended that the economic empowerment could improve by concentrating on the negative factors, which affects the rural women of the woreda, and consequently poverty levels will be reduced.
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