Factors Determining Women’s Empowerment in Rural Areas: An Ordered Logit Model-based Analysis
Women’s empowerment is one of the momentous issues of contemporary development policies in developing countries. This research study delves into the determinants of women’s empowerment in rural areas of Lower Assam, India, employing statistical techniques such as logistic regression. Drawing on data collected from 201 respondents, the study examines the influence of education, income, and gender inequality on women’s decision-making abilities within the family context. The findings reveal that education emerges as a significant predictor of women’s empowerment, consistently impacting their decision-making autonomy across various models. Specifically, higher levels of education are associated with increased empowerment, highlighting the critical role of educational empowerment in fostering women’s agency and autonomy. Furthermore, gender inequality within the household also exerts a notable influence on women’s decision-making, underscoring the need for addressing patriarchal norms and promoting gender equity. However, women’s income does not emerge as a significant predictor in the models, suggesting that economic empowerment alone may not suffice to enhance women’s decision-making abilities. Overall, the study contributes valuable insights into the multifaceted nature of women’s empowerment and underscores the importance of educational empowerment in promoting gender equality and women’s rights in rural India.
Keywords: Women empowerment; Rural area; Determinants; Statistical Analysis; Ordinal logit model
