The role of perceptions of empowerment and supervisory support on religious women’s performance in Tanzania

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between perceptions of empowerment among religious women and their overall performance in Tanzania. Specifically, the study explored how women religious perceive empowerment and supervisory support and their impact on performance. The main research questions were to what extent do women religious feel that they are empowered and how does greater sense of empowerment affect their overall performance? The study consisted of a descriptive survey among religious women working or studying in five higher learning institutions in Tanzania. In total, 300 questionnaires were distributed to targeted nuns. The response rate was 35% which meant that one in three targeted nuns responded to the survey. Overall, correlation results suggest that a greater sense of being empowered is positively related to perceived supervisory support and overall performance as hypothesized. On the other hand, regression analysis results showed that empowerment and supervisory support as independent variables explained variance in overall performance as hypothesized. The study concludes with a discussion on theoretical and practical implications related to people’s understanding of the issues and challenges that African religious women face in the process of increasing their workforce’s capacity and the ways they use in coping with the challenges.
Keywords: Empowerment, religious women, supervisory support, overall performance