La contribución de la mujer en la economía rural de Castilla y León

SUMMARY: Women's participation in the socio-economic activities of rural areas has been frequently underestimated. However, in recent years there is a clear awareness of public authorities that women’s inclusion in strategies for the economic revitalisation of the rural world is essential to fix population and generate income and employment in this territory. The objective of this paper focuses on determining the economic contribution of women to the development of rural areas of the Spanish region of Castilla y Leon. It analyses the relationship between the degree of development of rural communities and the socioeconomic characteristics of women who live in those territories. The analysis follows a methodology based on three types of multivariate techniques: the principal component analysis, the multiple regression analysis and the analysis of clusters. The results show that the economic and social participation of women in rural areas is a precondition to achieve a higher level of welfare and development in these areas.