Abstract

Over the past two decades, the issue of rural women in developing countries has evolved from relative obscurity to a primary concern among the growing community of researchers and policy makers who are interested in women's economic and social situation status. In respect to developing countries, rural women play a vital role in agriculture, daily reproductive tasks and income generating activities, etc. However, it is the reality that less value is given to their contributions, and rural women are less likely to realize their status to make a life better for themselves, families and communities. In this regard, participation of rural women in productive cooperation is an appropriate means for empowering them and reduction their poverty. This study was undertaken to review individual-economic factors affecting rural WP in "Paveh ball-making project" as a productive cooperative (co-op) in Iran. As an exploratory and descriptive-survey study, 120 rural women were selected from the cooperative in Paveh district using systematic probability method. The project was the first of its kind in the region. The study area is located in the west of Kermanshah province, in the mid-west of Iran. Necessary data and information were gathered using several methods such as documentary review, observation, PRA techniques, and a designed questionnaire. The result of path analysis showed that the socio–economic variables could explain about 61% of dependent variable (women participation). Trust to co-op staff, awareness, number of family, economical motivation, economic improvement of women’s family, years of membership, years of management at the cooperative, land and livestock ownership, were among the highly prevalent socio –economic factors that potentially have affected the participation of women in this co-op. As the factors influencing the participation of women are multiple and complex, a holistic approach should be adopted with emphasis on improving access to education, enhancing social status, increasing external funds and supports especially for rural women, encouraging ownership of local projects, and mechanisms to enhancing participation.