خوداتكايي اقتصادي زنان روستايي و تبيين عوامل اقتصادي موثر بر آن (مطالعه موردي در دو منطقه جلگه اي و كويري مركز استان اصفهان)

An Evaluation of economic self-reliance of rural women and delineation of related economic factors

This paper reflects the results of a survey-method research evaluating the impact of womenʹs employment on their self-reliance in two towns in Isfahan Province, Iran. The sampling is conducted using clustering stepwise method. Information is collected from 375 women residing in 20 rural settings with the number of samples determined according to population of each setting. The results indicate that only for a small proportion of rural women the need to fulfill familyʹs basic financial needs is not the major derive for employment. The findings significantly reveal that in spite of womenʹs vital role in the economy, about half of the employed women do not receive their income directly and also two third of those receiving their salaries straight are not allowed to spend it autonomously and independently. Results also show that for those with the right to spend their income, there is a significant difference on degree of their autonomy for different cost items. Most womenʹs autonomy to spend their income is connected with purchasing jewelry, clothes, economic investment, and savings. In general, it is concluded that women of rural women, lack reasonable self- reliance and their level of self confidence has a direct relationship with the proportion they receive from their income. In this relation, outside home employment, being an employer, holding executive positions, having multiple economic activities and gaining an income are the main factors affecting self-reliance.