Individual and Social Characteristics and Women's Social Participation: A Case Study of Kermān

Participation as a requirement for development can be studied from different perspectives. In this survey-method research we examine how individual and social characteristics affect rate of women’s social participation. Our sample is 300 women over sixteen years of age who were selected by random sampling. The data gathering instrument is the questionnaire which measures participation in two aspects of formal and informal participation. The hypotheses have been developed from Parsons’s social action theory. For data analysis, descriptive statistic and significance testing methods were used. Findings indicate that the average rate of informal participation is higher than that of formal participation. Also characteristics such as universalism, rationality, futurism, education level, participation of family members, and the evaluation of participation benefits, all have significant relationship with rate of women social participation.