Resource Sharing and Economic Empowerment of Rural Women in Kakanju Subcounty and Bitooma Town Council in Bushenyi District, Uganda

Women have been recognized to be engines of economic growth and development worldwide. Based on this, many nations in the world have formulated and implemented strategies to spur the economic empowerment of women through gender equality as stipulated in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Empowering women, through gender equality, has been emphasized by many nations to be a strategic approach to lifting rural women out of poverty by providing them with income-generating opportunities and access to resources (SDG 1), addressing disparities in access to resources (SDG 5) and reducing gender-based inequalities by providing rural women with equal access to resources, and employment opportunities hence contributing to a more inclusive and equitable society (SDG 10). The government of Uganda has initiated and supported various strategies to empower women economically but still most women, especially in rural areas, remain disempowered. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of resource sharing on economic empowerment among rural women in Bushenyi District focusing Kakanju Sub County and Bitooma town council. The study specifically sought to establish the extent to which resource sharing influences economic empowerment of rural women in Kakanju subcounty and Bitooma town council in Bushenyi district. A quantitative research approach was used to collect, analyze and interpret data. The study was underpinned by the feminist theory and resource-based theory. The study adopted correlational research designs. A sample of 294 respondents was selected from a target population 1117 using sloven’s formula. Data was collected using a self and researcher administered questionnaire. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The hypothesis was tested at 0.05 confidence level. Research findings indicate that resource sharing has significant relationship with economic empowerment of rural women (t=7.658, P=.000, P< 0.05).Therefore, it was concluded that resource sharing, are essential for economic empowerment of rural women. The study recommends that the local governments and central government should carry out trainings in areas of participation in decision making by rural women to equip them with negotiation skills and take away the fear in rural women to get engaged in decision making since it was found out that rural women are not trained in negotiation skills. This will make them take part in decision making regarding their economic empowerment. Keywords: Rural women, Economic empowerment, Gender equality, Poverty