Involvement of Farm Women in Decision Making of Dairy Farm Activities in Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh

An investigation was conducted to study the involvement of farm women in decision making of different dairy farm activities in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh .A total of 225 farm women were selected based on their land holding capacity. The study revealed that majority of the women in the study area took part in decision making on most of the dairy farm activities such as choosing the breed of the animal (68%), taking loans (79.11), purchase/ sale of animals (81.33), insurance of animals (77.77%), culling of animals (69.33%), construction of sheds (70.22%), farm expansion (72%), feeding of animals (77.33%), breeding practices ( 66.22%) health care of animals (87.55%), management of new born calves ( 88%), pregnant (87.11%) and sick (86.22%) animals, utility of dung(59.11%), adoption of scientific management practices( 55.55%) and sale of milk(73.33%), whereas majority (69.33%) of the women in study area were taking self decision regarding preparation of milk products. The study showed that among the landless, small and medium farmer categories the participation in decision making regarding choosing the breed of animal(74.66%), purchase or sale of animals(86.66%),insurance of animals (86.65%), culling of uneconomic animals (81.33%), construction of sheds (82.66%), farm expansion (76%), purchase of roughages and feeding of animals (86.66%), breeding practices (81.33%), utility of dung (69.33%) and adoption of scientific management practices (62.66%) was more in landless women compared to small and medium farmer categories.

Impact of Migration on Women Empowerment: A Situational Analysis of North-Bihar

The study was conducted during 2018-2019 to explore the impact of male migration innorth-Bihar in empowering women in different domain of household decisions. Five domainsnamely agricultural production, asset creation, health care, educational decision of childrenand leadership were considered and women empowerment indices were computed for eachdomain. The result revealed that migration of male member adequately empowered only29.44 per cent of women. Larger proportion of women respondents (43.89%) were foundunder moderately empowered category and 29.67 per cent were observed still under lowempowerment group. Women were adequately empowered in studied area to take decisionsrelated to health care, education and agricultural production. The decision to purchase andsale of assets still was under the jurisdiction of male counterpart as the patriarchal systemstill dominated. The role of women in decision making in all the farm activities, fromselection of crops to the sale of farm produce, showed comparatively more moderateempowerment indices. The paper concludes that the women are empowered to varyingextent in situation of male migration from their native places.

Social Impact of Primary Agricultural Co-operative Societies (PACS) in Nadia District of West Bengal

Aims: The researcher has endeavored to analyze impacts of PACS in-terms of selected social parameters using perception of the sample respondents. The study is significant to evaluate the perception of members PACS. Place and Duration of Study: The researchers have employed 290 members in 29 PACS out of the 365 operating PACS found in the Nadia district of West Bengal. Primary data for the study have been collected during 2017-2019. Methodology: The researchers have employed a multi-stage random sampling technique for selecting 290 members in 29 PACS in the Nadia district of West Bengal. The Likert-scale used with 5 points in the questionnaire in which, the respondents were required to grade the scale of their satisfaction for particular thing. Data have been standardized for in the study with Zero mean and Unit Standard Deviation. Qualitative as well as quantitative techniques of data analysis were used to describe and analyze the research questions. The data collected from household survey were organized, coded and entered into statistical package, TANAGRA and Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics such as, frequency distribution, percentages etc. multivariate analyses for data reduction, Principal Component Analysis, K-means Cluster Analysis, analyses related to Group Characterization have been done to arrive meaningful interpretations for conclusions of the study. Results: The score obtained from the PCA are then grouped through cluster analysis. Social perception is to arrange the score according to deviations from Standard Deviation (SD). More than 76 percent of the total members fall in the group implying the perception of the members on social development by PACS is mostly homogeneous in nature. The researcher has find two variables namely, PACS role on empowering women in decision making and PACS Social business with other rural institutions comprise the first factor. Similarly second factor consist of the two (2) variables namely, PACS role in sensitizing women leadership in PACS management and role in skill development of women though training/ handholding etc. The second factor may be viewed as the factor of woman empowerment. Conclusion: The study concludes that PACS play important role in social development of the family. Most of the members agreed upon the positive role of the PACS Empowering women in decision making, Generating awareness of ongoing social development schemes of Government, Mobilizing of weaker sections, Educating Co-operative principles and Social business with other rural institutions. Moreover, PACS help to improve education level and improve habit of agricultural loan at the time of cash requirement particularly during peak season of agricultural operations.

The Involvement of Women as the Domestic Decision Maker: A Study of Patna Metropolitan City, Bihar, India

In this paper, the importance of women in decision-making at family level in Patna City (Bihar, India) has been studied in detail. The status of women in society is a significant indicator of the socio-economic development of a region. The crucial parameters regarding women, such as their freedom of movement, involvement in family matters, the decision in the purchase of home assets and family planning, etc. are chosen to ascertain the degree of women empowerment in the study area. On the basis of these variables, the womens’ decision-making index (DMPI) has been calculated to determine the socio-economic status of women in their respective families. The study is based on primary data collected from 500 women having the age between 18 to 60 years in Patna city using stratified sampling method. The present report also examines some important features and autonomous factors which usually affect womens’ decision-making ability at the family or domestic level. In the study area, it was found that the power of women in decision-making was historically limited primarily due to patriarchal ideology. The study reveals that about 45% of the women enjoyed equal status in the family with regard to taking various decisions. The educational level and employment status of women was observed to be the most important factor determining their empowerment and involvement in decision making in all spheres of domestic life.

Women’s Decision-making Autonomy and Some Demographic Factors Associated With Higher Dietary Diversity in Bangladesh

Background: Consumption of diverse nutrient-rich diets is vital for maintaining a healthy life. A low-quality monotonous diet dominated by starchy staple foods is common in Bangladesh, which leads to the development of diseases associated with micronutrient deficiencies, particularly in women and their offspring. This research aims to validate the association between women’s decision-making autonomy and their attainment of higher dietary diversity (DD), as well as identify the sociodemographic factors that can independently predict higher DD.Methods: This study was conducted using the data selected from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2014. Women (n = 17,842) aged 15–49 years, with their complete dietary details, were selected as the participants. The DDS was obtained from a 24-h recall of dietary intake from nine food groups and was categorized into lower DDS (DD ≤ 4) and higher DDS (DD ≥ 5). The relationship between the decision-making independence of women and DDS was studied using logistic regression.Results: It was observed that almost all women consumed starchy foods, followed by flesh (meat or fish) (83.86%) and fruits (67.30%). The involvement of women in decision-making for household purchases was significantly correlated with higher dietary diversity. The odds were higher among women who participated in household purchases compared to women who did not (OR 2.40; 95% CI: 0.52–9.83; p = 0.022). Women who had higher and secondary education were 2.72 (95% CI: 0.49–15.02; p = 0.025) and 1.31 (95% CI: 0.28–6.18; p = 0.029) times more likely to achieve higher DD compared to those with no education. Women in the richer wealth quintiles were 6.49 (OR 6.49; 95% CI: 1.12–37.5; p = 0.037) times more likely to achieve higher DD compared to women in poorer wealth quintiles.Conclusion: The research findings suggested that the socioeconomic status, empowerment, and higher education of women may contribute to the purchase of nutritious foods and higher dietary diversity.

The Place of Women in Places of Decision in the Public and Private Sector: Case of Senegal

The issue of greater representation of women in decision-making bodies is a recurrent issue in corporate governance in general and in the management of diversity in particular, which companies are now confronted with. On the other hand, in Senegal, there is little written on the question but a lot of debates and good political intentions. The purpose of this article is to show from an empirical study that women still have failed to move beyond the "glass ceiling" that prevents them from reaching the highest positions. Through our study, based on a methodology of a qualitative and quantitative nature, we carried out semi-structured interviews (10), then administered questionnaires (60 and 39 selected) to some members of the decision-making bodies of companies in Senegal. . The results show that preconceived ideas remain far from the reality on the ground. They especially underline that the presence of women in decision-making bodies can have a positive influence on the performance and governance of organizations.

Influence of Women Participation on Sustainability of the Community Conservation Project Implemented by Jaldesa Community Conservancy in Marsabit County, Kenya

Biodiversity conservation is a new paradigm shift in the management of Community wildlife resources as a tool to sustainable growth of the economy, improved livelihood, and preservation of nature. The study established the role of women participation in projects and the sustainable wildlife conservation project at Jaldesa community in Marsabit County, Kenya. The study utilized four variables that included women in decision making, control & access to resources, project implementation and capacity building of women leaders &sustainable Jaldesa community conservation project. The design approach in the study was a cross-sectional survey having a mixed mode of research methods characterized with qualitative and quantitative. The Participatory and Ecological Feminism Theory were significant for the study. The probability and non-probability sampling were utilized to obtain sample size of 443 samples drawn from a target population of 19,860. Pilot study was obtained using a fraction of the sample. The reliability analysis was attained through Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of α>0.7. The research instrument was utilized. The researcher herself collected the Primary data using questionnaires and focus group discussions as research instrument. Descriptive and inferential statistics were analyzed with SPSS version 25. The Pearson’s moment correlation concluded that Access & Control of Resources, Capacity Building, Decision Making and Implementation has a significant influence on the sustainable conservation of Jaldesa community projects in Marsabit County, Kenya and there is a strong relationship. The study recommends that the authorities at national and county government of Marsabit County involve women in decision making, leadership roles, attend meeting, be party to decisions made by the conservancy board and making them well versed on the decision-making processes. Also, recommends that women manage, control, and have full access to resources through financial liberty, have voice on access to and control of resources and giving them right to resources and ownership.

APPLICATION OF FUZZY DELPHI METHOD ON WOMEN AS DECISION MAKER LEADERSHIP SELF-EFFICACY AND LEADERSHIP SKILL’S ITEM

The policy of 30% women representation as decision-makers in Malaysia has not been achieved even in 2021. This is due to the lack of women in decision-making positions in the public and private sectors. There are two factors for the lack of women in decision-making positions; leadership self-efficacy and leadership skills. In order to fulfil the policy of 30% women representation in decision-making positions, empirical research should be carried out to measure the level of leadership self-efficacy and leadership skills among female government officers who hold positions of Grade 48 and above. A research instrument that consists of items that measure leadership self-efficacy and leadership skills has been developed. A content validity process was carried out to ensure that the items would measure the dimensions that need to be measured. Hence, this study applied the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) in order to obtain experts’ consensus regarding the items that are relevant in measuring the dimensions of leadership self-efficacy and leadership skills of women as decision-makers. 14 expert panelists were involved in this research and all of the data collected were analysed using the FDM. Results of the analysis showed that 30 items developed for the leadership self-efficacy dimension and 25 items developed for the leadership skills dimension fulfilled the required conditions which are the threshold (d) ≤ 0.2, the value α-cut ≥ 0.5, and over 75% expert panelists’ consensus. It is hoped that the research results would lead to the innovation of applying the FDM in determining the content validity of the items developed in measuring dimensions such as measuring the dimensions of leadership self-efficacy and leadership skills among women.

Status of Rural Women in Dairy Farming in Amritsar District of Punjab

The present study examines the status of rural women in dairy farming in Amritsar district of Punjab. The study was based on the primary data collected for 2019-20 year from female dairy farmers selected through multistage purposive sampling technique. The data was analysed by using simple tabular analysis and other statistical tools. All the activities related to dairy farming was performed by female dairy farmers. Small size female dairy farmers performed all the activities related to dairy farming ranging from disposal of cow dung to care of sick and new born animals. Large size female dairy farmers hired labour for dairy activities due to higher income of the households and large number of animals. The role of rural women in decision making is paradoxical to their contribution in dairy farming. For various dairy related decisions like feeding of milch animals, management of milch animals, sale of milk and utilization of amount obtained from dairy farming rural women either only consulted or had no role in decision making. Independent decision making by rural women in dairy related activities was negligible in the study area. The major factors affecting the income of female dairy farmers was education, operated area and herd size. The main problems faced by female dairy farmers were negligible role of dairy farm women in decision making, non availability of adequate veterinary services, illiteracy of dairy farm women, lack of staff at government hospitals and lack of capital. The study suggested that to increase the income of rural women from dairy rural women should be more educated and empowered through extension facilities by government. Due to stagnation in growth of agriculture, dairy can be used as an alternative for marginal and small farmers for increasing their income. Marginal and small female dairy farmers should be give more subsidies, loan and training for dairy business. Strict rules should be made regarding working of veterinary hospitals as the doctors were not available in the government veterinary hospitals in the study area.