Women Engagement and Empowerment in the National Greening Program: Insights to Sustainable Implementation

Citizen empowerment, particularly women’s engagement, is key to the success and sustainability of greening programs. Women’s involvement in the National Greening Program, from seedling production to forest protection, boosts efficiency and fosters local ownership and sustainable decision-making. This study determined the empowerment of women as predicted by their level of engagement in the National Greening Program (NGP). A quantitative research design utilizing a descriptive-correlational approach was employed. Data were gathered using a researcher-made survey questionnaire based on the variables of social, economic, and environmental sustainability, applied to both the levels of engagement and empowerment of women beneficiaries. A total of 256 respondents from Capiz participated in the survey. The collected data were processed and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The study revealed that women in Capiz demonstrated very high levels of engagement and empowerment in the NGP across social, economic, and environmental dimensions. However, limited legal and formal participation was found to restrict further empowerment. The results indicated a significant positive relationship between engagement and empowerment, suggesting that higher engagement correlates with greater empowerment among women involved in the NGP.