Psychological Empowerment of Women Employees at a Iraqi University: Levels, Dimensions, and Demographic Correlates

Objective: To estimate overall and dimensional levels of psychological empowerment among female employees at Al-Esra’a University, Baghdad, and to examine associations with sociodemographic factors.

Methods and Materials: We conducted a cross-sectional survey (January–April 2024) of 92 working women using a self-administered questionnaire. Psychological empowerment was measured using a 26-item adaptation of Spreitzer’s scale, which encompasses meaningfulness, impact, self-efficacy, and self-determination (3-point Likert scale: agree/undecided/disagree). Content validity was established by expert review. The internal consistency of the total scale was high (Cronbach’s α = 0.90). Descriptive statistics (means, SD) summarized empowerment; chi-square tests assessed associations with age, marital status, education, economic status, and job tenure.

Findings: The mean total empowerment score indicated a high level (2.77/3). Dimension means ranked as follows: meaningfulness (≈2.86), highest, then self-determination (≈2.79) and self-efficacy (≈2.71); perceived impact was lowest. Selected demographic characteristics demonstrated statistically significant associations with empowerment (p ≤ 0.05). While participants strongly endorsed responsibility for decisions and personal growth, items reflecting influence beyond the immediate role scored comparatively lower, indicating a potential leverage point for intervention.

Conclusion: Female employees reported high levels of psychological empowerment overall, driven primarily by the factors of meaningfulness and self-determination. Targeted organizational strategies—such as expanding participation in decision-making, clarifying role scope, and strengthening feedback loops—may enhance the “impact” dimension. Future research should employ probability sampling, finer response scales, and multivariable modelling to quantify effect sizes and address potential confounding factors.