The Role of Social Media in Empowering Women Who Have Small Production Projects A Field Study on Poverty Pockets - Mafraq Governorate

The current study aimed at identifying the role of social media in empowering women who have small production projects. The descriptive analytical survey approach was used to suit the study objectives. The sample of the study consisted of (164) women who had small production projects in Al-Mafraq Governorate, who were chosen by purposive and snowball sampling. The results showed that the attitudes of women who have small production projects on social media and their use are high-level, and it was revealed that the role of social media in empowering women who have small productive  projects  was high socially and economically.It was found that there was a statistically significant effect at the level (0.05) of social media on the social and economic empowerment of women who have small production projects in Al-Mafraq Governorate. Keywords : role, social media, empowering women, small production projects, Al-Mafraq Governorate. DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/98-25 Publication date: June 30th 2020


Introduction
Social networks are among the most used sites by all age groups, as these sites have a major impact on the scientific and behavioral thinking of their users. The use of social media has increased in recent times, as it was first used by young people and then used by all age groups due to the ease of use and the variety of options they offer (Robert, 2013).
Despite the huge potentials provided by social networks, these sites have failed to shed light on the social and cultural issues of Arab women, Most Arab media reflects the traditional image of Arab women as a merely housewives and must take care of the family and the home and adopt the social and cultural aspects imposed by society on them (Marwick & Boyd, 2011).
Also, most of the Arab world countries still present women with the traditional image, which led to the woman's image being distorted by some media, and pushing the woman herself to adopt the negative image of herself in order to align with the image that the media drew for her. Therefore, the main objective of conducting this study is to shed light on the role that social networks play in building the modern image of Arab women and the impact of these methods in helping women to enable them socially and economically (Kimberley, 2010).
The use of social media has increased in recent times, as it was first used by young people and then used by all age groups (Sari, 2008).
In a study conducted by Nicole Ellison in 2013 to learn about the rates of using social networks in Britain, the proportion of social media users in Britain is currently determined, to reach 60% compared to 43% in 2007. Facebook is one of the most used applications in Britain, In addition to a number of other social networking sites used in Britain that include Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn (Marwick, 2010).
In this study, the researcher will shed light on the most important factors that led to the increase in the use of social media and the impact of these methods on building the personality of their users, as social media and discussion forums on the Internet have an impact on the assessment of the personality of users of these networks, in addition to that there are some users who take more than one personality on social media, which have undermined confidence among users of these networks. Also, this study aims to identify the extent to which social networks affect the building of the personality of Arab women and their social and economic empowerment, as women become more able to obtaining what they want through the use of social media.
in the past. This study seeks to answer the following question: What is the role of social networks in empowering women?

Objectives of the study
The study aimed to identify the following: 1-Identifying the impact of using social media on women's social empowerment. 2-Identifying the impact of using social media on women's economic empowerment.

Importance of the study
The importance of the current study comes from highlighting the role of Arab women through their use of social media networks, and how these networks have affected the empowerment of Arab women by providing them with the opportunity to express their views in a transparent and spontaneous manner, as social media users seek to highlight the positive side of their personality and how they can work to invest their personalities in a way that leads to economic and social empowerment. From this standpoint, the importance of the current study may be highlighted by covering the following ideas: Contribution to the disclosure of the role of social network sites in women's empowerment, in addition to showing how modern social media contributes to drawing the image of women and their economic and social empowerment.

Study questions
The study will answer the following questions: Question (1): How do social media contribute to empowering women? Question (2): How do social media contribute to social empowerment of women? Question (3): How do social media contribute to economic empowerment of women?

Social Media
Social media is a system of electronic networks, which allows the subscriber to create his own site, and then link it via a social electronic system, with other members, who have the same interests and hobbies. Communication depends on the communication of text, image, video and audio, as well as the use of the computer as its primary mechanism in production and presentation (Sari, 2011).

Forms and locations of social networks
The forms of social networking sites and their networks vary according to their functions and the means by which they are used. For example: 1-Publishing tools (Wikipedia). 2-Sharing tools and video download sites such as YouTube. 3-Chat tools (forums). 4-Public networks (Facebook). 5-Small advertising methods (Twitter).
Global statistics have recently showed that the number of Facebook users in Jordan increased by about 5 million users, and that was at the end of the first month of this year, and figures were published by the Internet World Stats website. Among the most prominent social media sites: (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, forums, wikis, Flickr, LinkedIn (October 2012).

Literature review A study carried out by Idan (2015) entitled "The Impact of Using Social Media Networks on the Performance of Customer Relationship Management -A Field Study from the Viewpoint of Jordanian Universities Students".
The study aimed to identify the impact of customer -oriented management and the technology used in customer relationship management, and a customer-centered administrative system in achieving customer relationship performance in the presence of social customer relationship management capabilities. The sample of the study consisted of (375) male and female students from Jordanian universities, and the descriptive approach was applied. The study found a statistically significant effect of customer -oriented management and the technology used in managing customer relationships, and the study recommended the need to involve students through the websites of universities and their official pages on social networks in evaluating employees and administrators.
A study carried out by (Jayachandran, et al, 2005)

entitled "The Role of Relationship Information processes and Technology Use in Customer Relationship Management"
This study has aimed at identifying the role of relationship information processes and technology use in customer relationship management, as well as the role of mobile technology that uses social networks in achieving the performance of customer relationships. The study population consisted of companies operating in various industries in the United States, where the researcher conducted interviews using phone calls and e-mails on a sample consisting of (1105) of the senior managers of marketing, sales and customer services in those companies.
The study found that there was an effect of customer o-oriented management and a customer-centered administrative system on information in relationships, the presence of an effect of information in relationships on the performance of customer relationships, and the presence of the mediating role that influences the technology used in managing customer relationships and on the performance of customer relationships.

A study carried out by (Stageman, 2011) entitled"Consulting Social Media in the College Transition Process Experiential Accounts of the Class of 2014"
This study aimed to identify the role that social networks play in building relationships with stakeholders, and the possibility of using social networks by students to communicate with the university. The researcher has relied on interviews and focus groups, where interviews were conducted with five officials from private universities, and also used focus groups, where the researcher has relied on 12 volunteers. Each volunteer formed a group consisting of (5-10) participants from university students.
The study found that the use of social media does not significantly affect the acquisition of new students, but it helps to build and maintain strong relationships with existing students. Social networks also enhance the relationship between the university and its employees with stakeholders.

A study carried out by (O'Brien, 2011) , entitled" The Emergence of The Social Media Empowered Consumer".
This study aimed to identify the extent of the influence of social networks on traditional customer relationship management, and on marketing concepts in Irish companies. The researcher adopted various and multiple sources to collect data, and it was in two stages: the first stage is to conduct interviews with professional and administrative specialists in this field, and the second stage is consumer focus groups, which consisted of (7) groups. The study concluded that the business has changed greatly due to the use of social networks, and these networks play a large role in facilitating the formation of relationships between the organization and the customer in terms of customer acquisition, but they are more useful in building and maintaining the relationship with the customer.

Empowering Jordanian women:
Although progress has been made in empowering women economically and socially, the potential of women in Jordan remains untapped and somewhat marginalized, as a result of social norms and traditions that continue to prevent women from achieving the desired progress. USAID programs work to promote gender equality by expanding social dialogue to change societal standards and practices based on gender discrimination, and to enforce policies and legislation in support of women's empowerment, improve services available to women and girls, as well as encourage women's participation in the fields of economy and voluntary Social works (usaid.gov).

Methodology
This study is based on the use of the descriptive analytical survey approach: This method was used to review the most important literature related to the role of social media in empowering women who have small production projects.

Population of the study
The study population consisted of women who have small production projects in Al-Mafraq Governorate in Jordan, and who use social media, which enables them to promote and market their products, as women were over the age of (18) years in this study.

The study sample
The sample of the study was chosen using the purposive approach and the snowball sampling, where (170) women who had small production projects in Al-Mafraq governorate were reached, who they used social media to promote and market their productive projects, as (170) questionnaires were distributed to women who met the requirements of the study. Having reviewed the questionnaires, (6) questionnaires were excluded because they were not valid for the purposes of statistical analysis, because they were incomplete, or because the questionnaires were retrieved empty because some respondents did not cooperate or abstained from participating, representing (96.5%) of the main sample. The following is the demographic distribution of the study sample individuals according to the  (1) shows that (17.1%) of the study sample members ranged between (18-28 years), (52.4%) of the study sample members were between (29.39 years), while it was found that (30.5%) of women in the study sample were over the age of (40 years).  Table (3) shows that (68.9%), which represents the vast majority of women who have small production projects in Al-Mafraq Governorate, have monthly income of (less than 350 Jordanian dinars), and (31.1%) have monthly income of (350 dinars or more).  (4) shows that (9.1%) projects related to antiques, (3%) teaching, (2.4%) the supermarket, (5.5%) women's salons, projects related to food (41.5%), while Garment projects has scored ( 21.3%).  (5) showed the multiplicity of social media used by women who have small production projects in Al-Mafraq Governorate. Facebook ranked first, with a mean of (2.46 / 3.00) and standard deviation of (0.71) which is of a high level. In second place, WhatsApp came with a mean of (2.32 / 3.00) and a standard deviation of (0.75), which is also of high level. Instagram ranked third , which scored a mean of (1.40 / 3.00), which was from a low level. In the use of the Snapchat has ranked fourth, with a mean of (1.37 / 3.00) and a Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3240 (Paper) ISSN 2224-3259 (Online) Vol.98, 2020 standard deviation of (0.61) which is of a low level.

The study tool: "questionnaire"
The study tool consisted of study questions which includes the following : The first axis: the primary data, which consists of: age in years, educational level, monthly income, type of project, social media used by women who have small production projects. The second axis: this includes attitudes of women who have small production projects towards social media and its use. The third axis: this includes to the role of social media in empowering women who have small productive projects, which is represented in two fields: The first field: the social aspect. The second field: the economic aspect.

Validity of the study tool:
The questionnaire was presented to (10) specialists from the faculty members of the (University of Jordan) and other Jordanian universities to verify the validity of its paragraphs. The researcher benefited from the specialists observations by adopting the agreed upon observations at a rate of (80%), whether by deletion, addition or amendment until the study tool appeared in its final form, divided into three areas. The researcher considered the opinions of the specialists and their adjustments as an indication of the truthfulness of the content of the study tool , the relevance and diversity of its paragraphs. After making the required adjustments, the balance between the contents of the study instrument in its paragraphs is achieved, thus the validity of the scale has verified.

Reliability of the study tool:
To identify the consistency of each paragraph of the questionnaire with the axis to which the paragraph belongs, the researcher used the correlation coefficients between each of the paragraphs in the questionnaire by using (Chronbach Alpha). Table (6) shows the results of the test, where the values of the Cronbach alpha of the study tool were generally higher than (0.60), which is an acceptable ratio in research and human studies as in table (16): Table (

Variables
Results of reliability coefficients using Cronbach Alpha Attitudes of women who have small production projects towards social media and its use 0.884 The role of social media in empowering women who have small production projects 0.924 Social media services empower women who who have small production projects 0.821 Tool as a whole 0.887

Study variables:
The study included several variables: First: Independent variable, which include: Attitudes of women who have small production projects towards social media and their use. Second: Dependent variable: which includes :empowering women socially and economically.

Statistical Analysis:
To answer the study questions, descriptive and analytical statistics approaches were used, using the statistical package (SPSS), where iterations and percentages were used to describe the study sample individuals according to demographic variables. The Alpha Cronbach test was used to verify the reliability of the study tool, and in order to answer the study questions, means and standard deviations were used to measure the dispersion of answers from the mean, and the One Sample T-test was used.

Scale correction key
The results of the descriptive statistical analysis of the data have been relied upon, which include means and standard deviations of all the independent study axes and the component of the paragraphs of each axis. It was taken into consideration that the Likert scale used for the study be graded as follows: Strongly agree agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 5 4 3 2 1 Accordingly, the values of the averages reached by the study will be dealt with as follows: (3.68-and higher: high), (2.34-3.67: average), (2.33 -and below: low). According to the following formula: High value -the minimum value of the answer alternatives divided by the number of levels, that is: (5-1) = 4 = 1.33 and this value equals the length of the class. 3 3 Thus, the low level of application is from 1 + 1.33 = 2.33 The average level of the application is from 2.34+ 1.33 = 3.67 The high level of application is from 3.68-5.00

Results
Means and Standard deviations were extracted to identify the responses of the study sample individuals on "The role of social media in empowering women who have small production projects in Mafraq Governorate," and the following is the answer to the study questions:

Results of the first question: What are the attitudes of women who have small productive projects on social media and their use?
To answer the first question, means and standard deviations were calculated to identify the responses of the study sample individuals on the attitudes of women who have small productive projects on social media and their use, and Table (7) shows the results:  (7) shows that the mean of (attitudes of women who have small productive projects on social media and their use) ranged between (4.32 and 3.01), where the axis obtained a total mean of (3.87), which is of high level. Paragraph (6) has scored the highest mean of (4.32), and a standard deviation (0.47), which is of high level, where the paragraph states (The social media I use plays a positive role in the marketing of my project).
In second place, paragraph (5) came with a mean of (4.23) and a standard deviation of (0.60), which is of high level, as the paragraph states (I adhere to the laws that regulate social media).
On the other hand, and in the last rank, paragraph (3) came with an average of (3.01) and a standard deviation of (1.35), which is of an average level, where the paragraph states (Social media helps me build new friendships that will help me in my project).
This explains that the attitudes of women who have small productive projects on social media and their use are high.
To confirm the attitudes of women who have small productive projects on social media and their use, the Independent Sample Test-One test, whose results appear in Table (8), has been used as follows:  (0.05), the value of T = 3.00, df = the sample -1, indicates the level of work confidence. Table (8) shows that the mean of the paragraphs of the scale of the study axis, which is represented in (the attitudes of women who have small productive projects on social media and their use) is (3.87), and with a standard deviation of (0.43) the calculated values of (T) is (25,871), which is higher than its tabular value (1.96). The results show that there are statistically significant differences at the level (0.05) between the mean of the scale and the default mean (3.00). Accordingly, it is clear that the attitudes of women who have small productive projects on social media and their use were high, which can lead to their empowerment.

Results related to the second question: How do social media contribute to social empowerment of women?
To answer the second question, means and standard deviations were calculated to identify the responses of the study sample individuals on the contribution of social media to empowering women who have small production projects in the Mafraq Governorate (socially and economically). Table (9) shows this:  Table 9 Means and standard deviations for the responses of the study sample individuals on "the contribution of social media to empowering women who have small production projects in the Mafraq Governorate (socially and economically)" arranged in descending order.  (9) shows that social media contributes to the empowerment of women who have small production projects in the Mafraq Governorate socially and economically and to a high degree, as it scored a mean of (3.71) and a standard deviation of (0.29), but social media was contributing to the empowerment of women who have small production projects in Al-Mafraq Governorate socially and at a high level, as it scored a mean of (3.77) and a standard deviation of (0.37). As for the contribution of social media to the economic empowerment of women, it was of an average level, as it scored a mean of (3.59) and a standard deviation of (0.43).
The following are the results of the means and the standard deviations of sub-paragraphs for each area of empowerment: 1-The role of social media in empowering women who have small production projects socially: Means and standard deviations were extracted to identify the role of social media in empowering women who have small production projects socially, and Table ( (10) shows that the mean of (the role of social media in empowering women who have small production projects) ranged between (4.43 and 3.12), where the axis has scored a general mean of (3.77), which is of high level. Paragraph (5) has scored the highest mean of (4.43), with a standard deviation of (0.60), which is of a high level, and the paragraph states (My confidence increases after the establishment of the project).
On the other hand, and in the last rank, paragraph (1) came with an average of (3.12) and a standard deviation of (1.23), which is of an average level, where the paragraph states (It makes me know other women who have small production projects).
This explains that the role of social media in empowering women who have small projects socially is of high level. 2-The role of social media in empowering women who have small projects economically: Means and standard deviations were calculated to identify the role of social media in empowering women who have small projects economically.   Table. (11) Shows that the mean of (The role of social media in empowering women who have small projects economically), ranged between (4.34 and 2.63), where the axis scored a mean of (3.59), which is of an average level . Paragraph (3) scored the highest mean, which reached (4.34) and a standard deviation of (0.77), which is of a high level. The paragraph stipulates: (Meeting the needs of the family through the income generatedfrom the project).
On the other hand, and in the last place, paragraph (7) came with a mean of (2.63) and a standard deviation of (1.44), which is of an average level, as the paragraph states (I have the ability to establish a new project in the future).
This explains that the role of social media in empowering women who have small projects economically is of average level.
In order to ensure that social media contributes to the empowerment of women who have small production projects in Al-Mafraq Governorate, an independent One-Sample T-test was used, the results of which are shown in Table 12 below: Table ( Table (12) shows that the mean of the paragraphs of the scale of the study axis, which is (social media and its contribution to empowering women who have small production projects in Al-Mafraq Governorate) reached (3.71), and a standard deviation of (0.29). The calculated value of (T) is (30.703), which is higher than its tabulated value (1.96). The results show that there were statistically significant differences at the level (0.05) between the mean for the scale and the default mean (3.00), accordingly ,it becomes clear that social media actually contributes to the empowerment of women who have small production projects in Al-Mafraq Governorate.

Conclusion
The results of the study showed that the attitudes of women who have small production projects towards social media and its use are of a high level, so the social media sites that are used may play a positive role in marketing projects. The results also showed that the study sample members abide by the laws that regulate social media.
The results showed that social media contributes to empowering women who have small production projects in Al-Mafraq Governorate. It was also noted that social media has an important role in empowering women who have small production projects socially, by increasing self-confidence after the project is established, and trust between the project owner and the clients and followers of the project is built.
The results also revealed that social media has an important and high-level role in empowering women who have small production projects economically, and that women have become able to meet the needs of the family through the income generated by the project, and women have become financially independent after promoting the project on social media.