Evaluating the Role of Virtual Social Networks in Women's Empowerment (Case Study: Baghmalek City)

Nowadays social networks have occupied a place for the presence of different social layers, especially women, and the place of exchange of ideas to meet the women’s needs in social life and empower them. Increasing female users’ virtual information and their awareness of the role of information in higher empowerment and greater roles has made them more involved in the virtual world. The present study aimed to investigate the role of virtual social networks in women's empowerment in Baghmalek. The research employs a theoretical, descriptive-analytical research method. The theoretical data were collected using the available books and articles via library techniques. The field data were also collected using a questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS.22 software. The results indicate that the model developed by the research data is confirmed, that is, the goodness of fit of the data to the established model and all the indices indicate the desirability of the structural equation model. The results also show the direct and high effect of variable social media networks on women's economic, socio-cultural, and information empowerment. Estimates of the Friedman test illustrate that in economic empowerment, the variable of promoting entrepreneurial spirit; in socio-cultural empowerment, the variable of improvement of ideas; and in information empowerment, the variables of news and events are in the first rank.