Psychological Empowerment A Determinant for Engagement in Income Generating

Activities among Rural Women in Yobe State, Nigeria

ZARA MALLAM MUSA1, AMINAH AHMAD2, SITI ZOBIDAH OMAR3

1
Institute for Social Science Studies, University Putra Malaysia, Putra InfoPort, 43400, UPM Serdang, Selangor,

Email: zaramusa5@gmail.com
2
Institute for Social Science Studies, University Putra Malaysia, Putra InfoPort, 43400, UPM Serdang, Selangor

Email: aminahahmad49@gmail.com
3
Institute for Social Science Studies, University Putra Malaysia, Putra InfoPort, 43400, UPM Serdang, Selangor

Email:zobidah@gmail.com

Abstract: Psychological empowerment is considered as a mechanism towards the engagement of rural women in
income generating activities. The aim of this study was to determine whether psychological empowerment predicts
the engagement of rural women towards income generating activities. The study randomly sampled 262 rural women
participating in income generating activities in Yobe state, Nigeria. The results obtained were centered on
demographic factors, level of meaningfulness, self-determination, competence, impact and engagement. The study
findings indicate that, there is a moderate level of psychological empowerment among the participants of income
generating activities. Conclusively for this activities to succeed, psychological empowerment must be perceptible to
the participants.

Keywords: engagement, income generating activities, psychological empowerment, rural women

1 INTRODUCTION
There is an increasing concern across the globe by Governmental, non- governmental organizations, and World Bank
on various policies over the engagement of rural women in income generating activities so as to address rural poverty
both generally or in terms of reduction strategies as part of the policies to promote rural advancement. Irrespective of
the rapid manner in which advancement is witnessed in most developing countries, poverty still remains
predominantly a rural phenomenon (Gbadebo et al., 2013). In Africa and indeed in Nigeria, it was evident that poverty
is rampant in rural areas than in urban areas, and women are the main victims (UNCTAD, 2011). The majority of the
poor lives in rural areas, with severity of destitution far greater than in urban areas, these trends are expected to persist
in the predictable future. Charity, (2011) asserts that, 70% of the world’s poor people lives in rural areas in developing
countries.
Engagement of rural women in developmental activities is facing a serious challenge in several developing countries,
for example in Tanzania (Fakih, 2015), Iran (Nikkah et al., 2011), and India (Fletcher et al., 2013). The majority of

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Nigerian women have lesser opportunity to engage in household as well as socio-economic and political decision
processes in the community they lack basic necessities of living including food, education, clothing, housing, and
health (Abramsky et al., 2011). Previous studies have pointed towards government negligence of rural areas in
developing countries and especially in Nigeria. For example, Ekpenyong et al., (2012) posits that rural areas in Nigeria
are the most neglected in terms of government’s developmental policies despite the fact that rural areas serve as the
most populated. It is imperative to consider income as an important dimension of livelihood, thus the upliftment of
the living standard of the poor rural women could only be achieved when they receive income from their income
generating activities (Weber et al., 2013).

The vision of Yobe State Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (SEEDS) is to empower women
psychologically, economically, politically, and educationally. These strategies include widening women’s access to
education, their engagement in income generating activities, participating in politics and review of laws on women
status (Umoru, 2013). The capacities of IGAs on alleviating poverty cannot be overemphasized as it serves as a tool
for psychological empowerment that leads to engagement among rural women community in Yobe state (MWA,
2016). The program serves as an avenue and plays a vital role in engagement in income generation and participation
in economic activities such as non-farm activities (e.g. Sewing, local detergent making, body lotion making, knitting
and poultry keeping), trade and other micro economic activities. Moreover, it enhances better utilization of resources
by providing considerably low capital outlay for poor rural women to increase in income for their needs as well as
taking care of their family as a whole.

The objective of this study is to identify the level of psychological empowerment and engagement of rural women in
income generating activities (IGAs), this study therefore, studied the relationship between psychological
empowerment and engagement in a non-formal setting. Despite the fact that psychological empowerment is defined
as a motivational concept, little research has explored its relationship with one of the main concepts in motivation
research and engagement (Kimura, 2011; Stander & Rothmann, 2010). Hence there is lack of studies in engagement
literature conducted in Nigeria particularly Yobe state. Therefore, this study contributes by applying western
organizational theories and extending the empirical evidences to a non formal setting. Secondly, Most of the literatures
concentrate on the significance of psychological empowerment, only few concentrate on dimensions of psychological
empowerment (Spreitzer, 1995). In this study, the researcher studied the levels of psychological empowerment
(meaningfulness, self-determination, competence and impact) and engagement, this will serve as a road map to rural
advancement practitioners for engaging rural women towards income generating activities.

2 METHODOLOGY
A survey approach is used in this study. The study was carried out at the ministry of women affairs Yobe state, Nigeria.
Yobe is located in the North East zone of Nigeria and is mainly an agrarian state with its headquarters at Damaturu. It
lies between Latitude 120 00’N and Longitude 11.300 E, covering a land area of about 45,502 square kilometers (km2),
with a population of about 2,321,591 people (NPC, 2006).Self-administered questionnaire was used as an instrument

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for the data collection. The instrument has thirty one (31) items to measure the psychological empowerment and
engagement in income generating activities among rural women. The items were adapted based on previous studies.
The respondents were rural women participants of income generating activities at the ministry of women affairs. The
instrument is a five (5) Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree; disagree; slightly agree; agree; and strongly agree.
A pre-test of 30 sample was conducted to test for the reliability of the instrument using Cronbach’s alpha and the
results shows that the questionnaire is reliable with Vigor, .9; dedication, .8; absorption, .9; meaningfulness, .9; self-
determination, .9; competence, .8; impact, .8 . The data was analyzed using statistical package for social science
(SPSS) version 22.0.

2.1 Population and Sample

The target population of the study is rural women participants in income generating activities organized by the State
Ministry of Women Affairs (MWA) in Damaturu, Yobe State, Nigeria. The study covers the beneficiaries of the
program 2016 to 2017. According to the ministry of women affairs 2016 report there are 450 rural women beneficiaries
from the IGAs in the year 2016/2017. There are 90, 103, 57, 86 and 114 participants in each of the 5 classes
respectively, so the population of this research was obtained by adding the total number of participants in all the
classes making 450 participants. Cochran (1977) formula is adopted for this study to determine an appropriate sample
size for the study. The larger the sample size the more it is a representation of the population and, the better the degree
of accuracy in generalization and data analysis (Ary et.al, 2013). Total sample size used by the researcher was 311.
Therefore, proportionate sampling was adopted by the researcher in order to get the percentages and samples of each
Income Generating Project Classes (IGP) in the ministry.

2.2 Validity and Reliability of the Instrument

The questionnaire was given to experts who are experienced to ascertain its validity. To ensure the reliability of the
questionnaire it was administered to thirty (30) respondents; and the reliability test conducted, Cronbach’s alpha
coefficient of .937 was obtained.

2.3 Procedure for Questionnaire Administration

The questionnaire was administered to the respondents by the researcher. The process for the data collection lasted
two (2) weeks. Three hundred and eleven (311) questionnaires were distributed and two hundred and sixty seven (267)
were retrieved, which gives an average response of (85%); an acceptable response rate according to Kruger, (2000. P
253). Five (5) of the questionnaires were excluded due to incompleteness. The total number of questionnaire in this
study therefore is 262 (84%).

2.4 Data Analysis

Descriptive statistic was used which includes: frequencies, percentages, mean, standard deviation and level report
findings.

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Table 1: Demographic characteristics of Respondents (n= 262)

No. Demographic Factors Frequency Percentage Mean SD Min. Max.

1 Age 31.87 7.63 15 59
15 – 25 87 33.2%
26 – 35 78 29.8%
36 – 45 62 23.7%
˃45 35 13.4%

2 Marital Status
Married 157 59.9%
Divorced 74 28.2%
Widowed 31 11.2%

3 Educational Level
Informal/Adult 114 43.5%
Primary 103 39.3%
Secondary 45 17.2%

4 Nature of IGAs
Sewing 80 30.5%
Local detergent making 46 17.6%
Body Lotion 48 18.3%
Poultry keeping 47 17.9%
Knitting 41 15.6%

Table 1 above indicates findings from the analysis which shows that the ages of the respondents’ ranges from 15 to

25 years with a mean of 31. 87 and standard deviation of 7.63. More than half of the respondents (62%) were below

35. For marital status, majority of the respondents that is 157 (59.9%) were married while 74 (28.2%) were divorced

and 31 (11.2%) are widowed. For the educational level, 114 respondents (43.5%) went through informal/adult

education school, 103 respondents (39.3%) primary school and 45(17.2%) secondary school. Based on the analysis

one can say that since majority of the respondents had informal/ adult education, it is most likely that they need to

participate in income generating activities. In conclusion, those who engage in sewing are the majority constituting

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30.5%, local detergent making 17.6%, body lotion making 18.3%, poultry keeping 17.9% and 15.6% engage in

knitting.

Table 2: Level of Psychological empowerment and engagement

S/n Variables Levels

1 Meaningfulness M SD Low Moderate High
11.98 2.19 (3-7) (8-12) (13 Above)
9 (3.4%) 150 (57.3%) 103 (39.3%)

2 Self-determination M SD Low Moderate High

12.3 2.33 (3-7) (8-12) (13 Above)
12 (4.6%) 131 (50.0%) 119 (45.4%)
3 Competence M SD Low Moderate High
11.1 3.07 (3-7) (8-12) (13 Above)
32 (12.2%) 147 (56.1%) 83 (31.7%)
4 Impact M SD Low Moderate High
11.4 2.88 (3-7) (8-12) (13 Above)
24 (9.2%) 149 (56.9%) 89 (34.0%)
5 Vigor M SD Low Moderate High
22.4 4.71 (8-15) (16-23) (24 Above)

29 (11.1%) 112 (42.7) 121 (46.2)

6 Dedication M SD Low Moderate High

20.7 3.41 (6-12) (13-19) (20 Above)
6(2.3%) 69 (26.3%) 187 (71.6%)
7 Absorption M SD Low Moderate High
23.4 3.72 (8-15) (16-23) (24 Above)
11 (4.2%) 101 (38.5%) 150 (57.3%)

The above table pointed out motivational factors for engaging in income generating activities based on frequency,
percentage, mean, standard deviation and the levels of each variable. From the above table, 150 respondents (57.3%)
have a moderate meaningfulness level compared to 103 respondents (39.3%) with a high level meaningfulness.
Whereas 9 (3.4%) respondents has a low level of meaningfulness. Based on five scale, the minimum level is 1.00
while maximum is 5.00. 131 respondents (50.0%) have moderate level of self-determination and 119 (45.4%) with
high level while 12 respondents (4.6%) have low self-determination level as shown in table. It was found that 147
respondents (56.1%) has a moderate level of competence as compared to 83 respondents (31.7%) having a high level
and as 32 (12.25) with low level. 149 respondents (56.9%) are found to have moderate level of impact. On the other
hand, 89 respondents (34.0%) have high impact while 24 of the respondents (9.2%) have low impact as shown in the
above table. A greater proportion (69.8%) of the rural women reported high level of engagement in income generating
activities, while 24.0% moderate level, and 6.6% with low level.

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Table 3: Psychological empowerment

No Items Mean SD Level

Meaningfulness
1 My income generating project is very important to me 3.82 0.87
2 My income generating activities is personally meaningful to me 4.03 0.85
3 My income generating project is meaningful to me 4.13 0.84
overall 2.36 0.55 Moderate
Self-determination
1 I am confident about my ability to learn new skills for the income 3.97 0.83
generating project
2 I am self-assured about my capabilities to perform tasks for my 4.13 0.91
income generating project
3 I have mastered the skills necessary for my income generating project 4.19 0.89
overall 2.41 0.59 Moderate
Competence
1 I have significant autonomy in determining how I should carryout 3.57 1.08
tasks for income generating project
2 I can decide on my own how I should go about performing tasks for 3.74 1.11
my income generating project
3 I have considerable opportunity for freedom and independence on 3.84 1.12
how I perform tasks for my income generating project
overall 2.19 0.63 Moderate

Impact
1 My impact on what happens when carrying out tasks for my income 3.74 1.00
generating project is large
2 I have a great deal of control over what happens while carrying out 3.77 1.01
tasks my income generating project
3 I have significant influence over what happens while carrying out 3.85 1.04
tasks for my income generating project
overall 2.25 0.63 Moderate

Table 2 and 3 indicates the items measured in this study, thus; Meaningfulness, Self-determination, Competence,
Impact, Vigor, Dedication and Absorption. The average mean value of meaningfulness from the above table is 2.36
as indicated in table 2. One of the item has moderate mean while the remaining items are high. Findings therefore
shows that, there is moderate level of meaningfulness among rural women participants of IGAs in Yobe State, Nigeria.
Empowered rural women derived greater sense of meaning from their engagement in income generating activities
(Zhu et al., 2014).

The average mean value of self-determination as indicated from the above table is 2.41 two of the items has high mean
and one with moderate. The result shows moderate level of self-determination among rural women participants of
IGAs. The more self-determined these women are, the more resourceful they can be leading to focus on ideas or
problems longer and tirelessly (Ryan et al., 2008).

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Competence mean value from the above table is 2.19, all the items shows moderate level. The findings indicates that
thre are moderate level of competence among the participants of IGAs in Yobe state Nigeria. According to Bani et al.,
(2014) competence is the belief that this women has on having the required skills to carry out their activities very well.

The above table indicated that, impact has an average mean value of 2.25. From the items measured all shows moderate
level of impact on women’s engagement in IGAs. These participants has the autonomy on the outcome of their
activities or accomplishment of their goals (Bright et al., 2013).The overall findings shows that, there is moderate
level of psychological empowerment of rural women participants of IGAs. To curtail the lack of engagement among
rural women the ministry should create a good environment by encouraging a good trainer and trainee relationship so
that they will feel engrossed and psychologically present at their activities which will foster their engagement.

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Table 4: Engagement

No Items Mean SD Level

Vigor
1 I feel active with energy at my income generating activity 3.22 1.09
2 I can continue learning for a long period of a time 3.64 0.96
3 I always persevere, even when things do not go well during my 3.75 0.91
involvement in income generating activities
4 I feel strong and vigorous when performing tasks for my income 3.85 0.92
generating project
5 When I get up in the morning, I feel like performing tasks for my 3.90 0.92
income generating project
6 When performing tasks for my income generating project, I am 4.05 0.93
mentally resilient
Overall 2.64 0.59 High
Dedication
1 I found my income generating project full of meaning and purpose 3.98 0.89
2 My income generating project inspires me 4.08 0.90
3 I am proud of my income generating project 4.15 0.80
4 To me my income generating project is challenging 4.20 0.86
5 I am passionate about my income generating project 4.25 0.77
Overall 2.64 0.59 High

Absorption
1 Time flies during my involvement in income generating project 3.87 0.80
2 I feel happy when I am learning intensely about income generating 4.04 0.80
skills
3 When I am learning income generating skills I forget everything else 4.14 0.86
around me
4 I am immersed in my income generating activities 3.65 0.89
5 I get carried away when I am learning new income generating skills 3.77 0.86
6 I find it difficult to detach myself from my income generating project 3.94 0.91
Overall 2.64 0.59 High

The above table shows that, the average mean value of engagement is 2.64. From the items measured on Vigor, one
item has a high mean value and the remaining are moderate, dedication has one item as moderate mean while the
majority has high mean value and absorption has two high mean. The remaining items has moderate mean. The overall
findings indicated that there is high level of engagement in IGAs among the participants. Those women who are
engaged in activities have an energetic, enjoyable and effective connection with the activities (Alqusayer et al., 2015).

3 CONCLUSION
Based on the findings of this study, psychological empowerment of rural women contributes significantly towards
their engagement in IGAs for the improvement of their socio-economic wellbeing as indicated by theories and
researches. The ministry should take into account the personality aspect of these rural women into consideration as so

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as to make the activities meaningful, which will boost their competence and self-determination as well as allow them
to have an autonomy which will increase their chances of engagement. The instruments used for the collection of Data
in the study is first of its kind in the ministry, so it can go a long way in previous researches as well as investigations
there by giving the ministry a blueprint on which antecedent of empowerment needs to be given more consideration
in so as to get more women engage in income generating activities.

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