ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF COORPERATIVE SOCIETIES ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN GOMBE METROPOLIS, GOMBE STATE NIGERIA

This study assessed the impact of cooperative societies on women empowerment in Gombemetropolis, Gombe Sate Nigeria. The study examined the socio-economic characteristics ofwomen cooperatives in Gombe metropolis, identifies the sources of income of the cooperativesocieties, assessed the impact of cooperative societies on women empowerment and investigatedthe challenges faced by the cooperative societies. Data was gathered from systematically selectedwomen based on Taro Yamene formula with error margin of 0.01 (10%) out of the 19 registeredand functional cooperatives in Gombe metropolis. Descriptive statistics were employed inanalyzing the data which found that the predominant sources of income of the cooperativesocieties was membership contributions (30%), 53% of the respondents said that they benefittedfrom the dividends shared by the cooperatives, which some used in acquiring landed propertiesand payment of children’s school fees (30% and 27%) respectively. Relationship between thesocio-economic characteristics of the cooperators as independent variables and participation incooperatives as dependent variable was tested using chi-square, the result shows that out ofseven independent variables, six were statistically significant. The study concluded that womencooperators have been moderately empowered economically to meet up with basic needs of thefamily. Therefore, the government and development organizations should enhance theeffectiveness of cooperative societies through sustained awareness campaign and financialsupport for sustainable development.Keywords: Assessment, Cooperative, Empowerment, societies, Women