INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF EMPLOYMENT EMPOWERMENT OF RURAL FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS ON THEIR FOOD INSECURITY

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the impact of employment empowerment of rural female-headed households on their food insecurity. This research is applied in terms of purpose, descriptive in terms of method, and field-based in terms of data collection. Moreover, this study adopts a quantitative methodological approach. The statistical population consists of all rural female-headed households covered by the Welfare Organization and the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee in Tehran Province. Cochran’s formula is used to determine the sample size, and proportional allocation sampling is applied for sample selection. The data collection instrument is a questionnaire developed based on theoretical studies and their findings. It is noteworthy that one of the simple tools proposed for directly measuring food security is the Radimer-Cornell questionnaire. To examine the reliability of the research questionnaire, 30 rural women were randomly selected, and the questionnaire was completed by them, followed by a refinement of the variables. SPSS 24 and Amos 24 software are used for data analysis. The results, based on the examination of path coefficients, indicate a significant relationship between employment empowerment of rural female-headed households and food security (β=0.32, p=0.001), significant at the level of P < 0.05. Therefore, the relationship between empowerment of rural women and food security is confirmed as significant.