Women’s Empowerment and Family Economic Bargaining Power in the Local-Potential-Based Glagah Broom Industry in Majalangu Village
Keywords:
women’s empowerment, local potential, broom industry, bargaining power, family economyAbstract
Local-potential-based development is a key strategy for strengthening rural economies, especially where home-based production enables women’s participation. This study examines women’s empowerment through the traditional broom industry in Majalangu Village, Watukumpul District, Pemalang Regency, focusing on its enabling and constraining factors and its implications for family economic bargaining power. Using a qualitative case study, data were gathered through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and document review with women broom makers, family members involved in production, and local institutional actors, then analyzed through data reduction, display, and conclusion drawing, supported by source and method triangulation.
The findings show that the broom industry is a major local economic backbone, with women dominating core production stages. About 65 percent of households are involved, at least part-time, and women contribute around 40–50 percent of household income among the informants. This has strengthened women’s bargaining position in family economic management, particularly in daily expenditure and consumption decisions. However, empowerment remains partial, as women still face a double burden, limited access to formal capital and market information, and strong dependence on middlemen. The study concludes that although the industry has expanded women’s economic integration, it has not yet produced sufficient strategic change to reduce broader gender inequality or improve producers’ position in the value chain. Women’s empowerment therefore needs to extend beyond income generation toward institutional strengthening, greater market access, and a fairer redistribution of domestic work.
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