Obstacles of Women Presence in Iranian Rural Management: A Case from Osku County

The presence of women in social and managerial fields is one the indicator of social justice and development that leads to optimum use of capabilities and potentials of half of the country’s rural population. In the recent years, establishing public institution of Dehyary by the Ministry of Interior have provided new opportunity for women presence in rural management. This study aimed to identify women’s participation obstacles in rural management in Iran, specifically in Dehyary. The statistical population of this study was 15-64 year – old females which were resident in rural areas of Oskou County. Applying a proportional random sampling and Cochran formula, 347 women were chosen to be surveyed as sample. A questionnaire was used for data collection, which its face validity was approved by a panel of experts and its reliability was calculated by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α=0.84). The results revealed that, negative attitudes and believes in rural community is the most important obstacle for women to participate in rural management. Furthermore, factor analysis categorized obstacles for women participation in six factors including cultural, personal, supportive, job-related, religious and Economic constrains.