Women’s Empowerment in the Context of Household Composition: A Critical Approach to Measurement of Single-Parent Women’s Empowerment

Authors : Neriman Başak Altan, Ayşe Abbasoğlu Özgören

Pages : 79-116

View : 21 | Download : 8

Publication Date : 2024-12-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The main objective of this study is to analyze how women\\\'s empowerment varies by household composition, focusing on single-parent and married women. This study also aims to discuss how empowerment can be measured, which components are critical when analyzing women\\\'s empowerment, especially according to the household composition variable, and to address limitations. The factors behind this issue are addressed from a feminist perspective using a mixed method approach. The 2018 TDHS data were used to answer the research question, the variable of women\\\'s empowerment was created through factor analysis using a polychoric correlation matrix, and multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the relationships between women\\\'s empowerment and explanatory variables. Following the quantitative analysis, in-depth interviews were conducted with 18 women to discuss their life experiences, coping strategies, and perceptions of empowerment and self-image. The quantitative analysis, in which married women with dependent children were taken as the reference category, revealed that the level of empowerment of single-parent women with dependent children was particularly high. Single-parent women\\\'s entry into the world of work, family support and critical inequalities have been addressed. For married women, the unequal sharing of household chores and limited autonomy in decision-making were identified as obstacles to their empowerment. On the other hand, it was also discussed that issues that empower women can actually create burdens. This study, which also emphasizes the limitations of the quantitative measurement of women\\\'s empowerment, provides a perspective for the creation of a deeper and feasible approach and surveys on this subject, too.
Keywords : Kadının güçlenmesinin ölçümü, hanehalkı kompozisyonu, tek ebeveyn kadınlar