Digital Empowerment of Women in Rural Areas: Opportunities and Challenges
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Abstract
The introduction of digital technologies is an exciting tool to support socio-economic viability and vitality in rural communities, and women are at the centre of the change. This paper explores digital empowerment of rural women, focusing on opportunities facilitated by digital access and obstacles which remain to full engagement in effective participation. The study draws from the ongoing debate about digital divide, financial inclusion and gender equality and focuses on the role of mobile technology, the Internet and digital financial services products and how they affect women's economic autonomy, their social participation and women's access to information. The research design adopted was quantitative and the data collected were primary data obtained by structured questionnaire with likert scale of five point participated by 160 respondents which were rural women. Data collected were then analysed using the descriptive technique, reliability testing, correlation analysis, one-way ANOVA and multiple regression analysis by using Statistical Package Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings reveal statistically positive digital access women empowerment, while, on the other hand, certain limitations are stated such as low digital literacy, absence of relevant infrastructure, financial barriers and socio-cultural restrictions have been revealed. These two variables, namely digital literacy and digital financial inclusion emerged as the best predictors of the empowerment outcomes based on the regression results. The authors conclude from the study that digital empowerment provides a good opportunity to empower the rural women, but it must be implemented together with the policy measures, appropriate digital literacy training, low cost connectivity and supportive socio-cultural environment..
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