Fields and Domains of Decision-Making by Housewives; a Semantic Reconstruction of the Experiences And Understanding of Women In Sanandaj

The breadth and scope of power of housewives is subject to limitations due to their fragile and vulnerable position in the economic and social structures. One of the areas on the basis of which women’s empowerment could be assessed is the decision-making process in everyday life. The purpose of this research is to semantically reconstruct the lived experience of married women of decision-making and explore the fields, consequences and ways of women’s exposure to the phenomenon of decision-making through the perception and mental conceptualization of the actions that women exploit in their everyday life a source of power to enhance their agency in the environment. The present study was carried out with a qualitative approach, couched in the grounded theory. Targeted sampling with maximum diversity was used to select the samples; and semi-structured interview was used to collect the data. The results of interview with 28 samples of Sanandaj women indicate that self-esteem, re-conceptualization and risk-taking, family support, gender stereotypes, experience (of decision making), and resources available to women, constitute the grounds for decision making of women. The semantic reconstruction of the experience and understanding of women of decision making shows that women appeal to such strategies as logical dialogue, due and timely fulfillment of responsibilities, financial independence and support, raising the expectations, and strike. The decision-making experience for women contributes to their sense of value, collective belonging, self-reliance, empowerment and self-esteem.