Assessing the Impact of Women's Empowerment on Humanitarian Development in Somalia.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20225370Keywords:
Women's empowerment, Humanitarian development, Somalia, Economic participation, Gender equalityAbstract
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between women's empowerment and humanitarian development outcomes in Somalia, focusing on how economic participation, educational access, and decision-making inclusion influence community resilience and household well-being. Using a correlational research design, data were collected from 432 women across six regions of Somalia through standardized self-report measures. Descriptive statistics summarized demographic and study variables, while Pearson correlation and multiple regression were used for inferential analysis. Results indicated that women's economic empowerment significantly predicted household food security (B = 0.687, p < .001, β = 0.542), suggesting that women with access to income-generating activities and financial services report higher levels of household resilience. Educational attainment was found to mediate the relationship between empowerment programming and leadership participation (indirect effect = 0.254, p = .012), implying that education serves as a critical pathway for women's engagement in humanitarian decision-making. Moderation analysis showed that exposure to gender-based violence significantly weakened the positive effects of economic empowerment on well-being outcomes (B = -0.378, p = .008), highlighting the need for integrated protection and livelihoods programming. These findings demonstrate that women's empowerment is not merely a gender equality objective but a fundamental driver of humanitarian development in Somalia.
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