This study examines the determinants of women’s empowerment in rural cooperatives in Morocco, focusing on cooperative participation (CP), institutional support (IS), financial access (FA), training (TR), social capital (SC), and governance quality (GOV). Using cross-sectional data from 80 women-led cooperatives, the study applies ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with mediation and moderation analyses to explain variations in a multidimensional women’s empowerment index (WEI). The results show that CP significantly enhances women’s empowerment, while IS, FA, and TR also exert positive and robust effects. SC partially mediates the relationship between CP and empowerment, highlighting the importance of trust and collective networks in rural cooperative settings. Education has a direct positive effect on empowerment, although its moderating role on the TR empowerment relationship is not statistically significant. Overall, the findings indicate that women’s empowerment is shaped by a combination of internal cooperative dynamics and external institutional conditions. The study highlights the need for integrated policies that strengthen cooperative engagement, financial inclusion, TR, and IS.

PDF (Download Full text)