Does the interplay between gender and group type shape collective agency? Evidence from mastercard farmer network in Uganda

ABSTRACT Groups and other social networks have been advanced as vehicles of empowerment that enable access to resources and participation in decision‐making. However, little empirical evidence exists on the effect of different types of groups on women's collective agency. This study comparatively examined the association between gender and group type interaction on collective agency among common bean farmer group members supported and non‐supported by MasterCard Farmer Network (MFN). In addition, it examined the association between individual characteristics, access to resources and group membership on individual‐level collective agency. The study used a cross‐sectional survey and a semi‐structured questionnaire to collect data from 653 common bean farmers selected through stratified random and proportional‐to‐size sampling across 13 districts in Uganda. The study employed descriptive statistics, factorial ANOVA, and fractional regression to analyze the data. Results show that individual‐level collective agen