Sociological Explanation of Women’s Participation in Livelihoods of Rural Society (Case Study: North Khorasan province of Iran)

This study aimed at explaining the extent of rural women's participation in household livelihoods and identifying the effective socio-economic factors. It was conducted in a survey method and the statistical population included the rural women in the Garmah and Jajjarm districts of North Khorasan province of Iran. Using a sampling method, totally 167 individuals were selected and the data and information were collected through interviews and a questionnaire. The study results revealed that despite their significant role in the household livelihoods, the rural women had a limited access to household income and assets (almost 9.3 percent); in addition, the variables including age, educations, extent of individual's gender bias (gender stereotypes), extent if willingness to progress, extent of mass media usage, economic status of household, the extent to which the villages have development facilities, and distance from villages to the city within the individual, social and family factors were the most important factors significantly affecting the participation of rural women in the rural household livelihoods.