Digital Literacy as a Mediator of Empowerment Among Indigenous Women Cotton Artisans: A Structural Equation Modeling Study in Morrope, Peru

Drawing on Sen’s capabilities approach and digital empowerment frameworks, this study investigates digital literacy as a mediating factor in the conversion of structural resources into empowerment outcomes for indigenous women artisans of native cotton in northern Peru. A cross-sectional explanatory study involving 100 craftswomen used structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the impact of technological infrastructure, sociodemographic factors, and sociocultural knowledge on economic, personal, and social empowerment, with digital literacy as the necessary mediating mechanism. A 45-item questionnaire assessed predictor variables, the four mediator dimensions (cognitive, technical, social and communicative competencies) and the three domains of empowerment as dependent variables. PLS-SEM analysis in SmartPLS 4.0 showed that the model fit well (SRMR = 0.072, CFI = 0.931) and that the structural factors accounted for 80.4% of the variance in digital literacy. The mediator had a large effect on all areas of empowerment but had the largest effect on economic empowerment (β = 0.846, R2 = 0.709) compared to personal and social empowerment (β = 0.618, β = 0.628, R2 ≈ 0.37). The indirect effects validated the mediating role of digital literacy, demonstrating its function as an essential conversion mechanism that transforms infrastructural, sociodemographic, and knowledge resources into tangible empowerment gains. The results provide empirical support for skills-based frameworks in digital inclusion initiatives, advancing SDGs 5, 8, and 9 by illustrating how digital skills empower vulnerable artisanal communities to transform traditional knowledge and access to technology into multifaceted empowerment outcomes.