Thesis:

Influence of rural women empowerment on socio - economic development in Chesumei sub county, Nandi County –Kenya

Empowerment of rural women has made a significant contribution to socio-economic development for societies, especially in developing countries like Kenya. This study set out to look at how empowerment of rural women can lead to socio-economic development, especially in the specific context of Chesumei Sub-County, Nandi County, Kenya. The study was built around several objectives: to establish the capacity-building opportunities that rural women engage in to encourage sustainable development in Chesumei Sub-County; to examine how education for basic education affects socio-economic status of rural women; to establish how economic empowerment affects socio- economic well-being; to establish the effects of health incentives on the socioeconomic development of rural women in Chesumei Sub-County. The study included a thematic literature review, comprising of the study, while taking into consideration the study objectives. The study adopted a mixed-methods research design and methods for data collection. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used in the study with the use of questionnaire and interview schedules. All women that lived in the study setting were approached as the study target. A sample size of 100 respondents was calculated using Yamane's formula, representative and purposive sampling provided representative participation. The study area was spatially divided into five elective wards and sample size allocation was made relative to the distribution of women in the wards. Additionally, three women leaders from each ward were purposively selected for the interview. The researchers '' validated the research instrument, followed by a prevalidation of the tools consistent with the dimensions of the study. In confirming reliability, the test-retest method was utilized using the same questionnaire administered to the same respondents separated by a time lapse. I piloted all five elective wards using five questionnaires in all five elective wards. The coded qualitative data were subsequently analyzed using SPSS to get descriptive to describe the quantitative data and thematic analyses were interpreted for the qualitative data. Descriptive data were used to report the results, including frequencies, percentages, and tables. Ethics played a role in this study, participants provided informed consent which was also aided by participants being informed of the purpose of the study enabling participants to give informed external consent to participate. I assured participants confidentiality and if there were elements of sensitive information, participants would not be identified for reporting or presentation unless permission was explicitly given.