International Journal of Research in Social Sciences

Women's economic empowerment has been an issue of academic and policy debate. A lot of affirmative policies have been emplaced in developing countries, including Ethiopia, to benefit rural and urban poor women, out of which women economic empowerment measures are notable. However, little has been improved in the area of women economic empowerment. This study is aimed at identifying the “Determinants of Rural Women Economic Empowerment in Guduru Woreda of Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia”. Rural women at household level, women civil servants and other civic societies like youth, elders, religious leaders and experts from the civil service were participated in the study. Survey questionnaires, structured interview and focus group discussion was used in the data collection The data was analyzed by using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Descriptive statistics and econometric analysis methods was used for quantitative data analysis. The data results showed that economic empowerment of rural women were affected by factors such as lack of access to information, low participation of rural women matters that affect their economic empowerment options and constraints to freedom of mobility. The institutional factor that includes poor economic condition and lack of law enforcement of gender affirmative provisions to resolve inequality and constraints of the will of policy makers to resolve the disempowering factors and low level of rural women participation in decision making on access to and control over economic assets. The study thus concludes with the recommendation that the policy practitioners need to ensure active participation of rural women in policy interventions and benefit them by applying the affirmative policy provisions in the Woreda. In this respect, there should be disciplining both positive and negative mechanisms for those implementing the affirmative policy provisions and those reluctant to do this respectively.