Hira Batool, Kalim Ullah
The present research focused on the challenge faced by Pakistani women in rural areas. The paper hypothesized the interplay of women's networks (ties to the community, ties to men in power and ties to family); use of ICT (information and communication technology which, means the use of internet and computer) for the success of women entrepreneurs. The results from two-year quasi experimental field study in ten different rural areas of Pakistan provided significant support for our proposed model. The results showed positive ties between family and community, but men in power showed negative tie related to information and communication use, entrepreneurial activity and profit. The information and communication interference also had a strong effect on entrepreneurship, with fifty new businesses in the ten intervention villages compared to 10 new businesses in the control villages. The outcomes also provide an indication of the active interplay of social networks and information and communication usage. The researchers also address the implications of our research for the grand challenges of empowering women in less developed countries.