Building bridges: how women's relational empowerment is linked to well-being and community embeddedness

Abstract

Both host nations and expatriates themselves are concerned with the integration of women expatriates into host countries' societies. We developed a framework based on empowerment theory to illustrate how relational empowerment influences well-being and community embeddedness in a host country. By promoting relational empowerment, individuals enhance their well-being, making them more engaged and embedded within a community. This study collected data from 218 women expatriates living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and utilized the Hayes PROCESS Macro to test four proposed hypotheses. Based on bootstrapping and regression results, we found that women's relational empowerment is directly and indirectly linked to community embeddedness, with this indirect relationship influenced by factors such as women's well-being. We discussed the implications of these findings for both theoretical advancement and the development of practical strategies, emphasizing on how relational empowerment can impact women's well-being and lead to greater community embeddedness in the UAE and potentially elsewhere.

Keywords: United Arab Emirates; community embeddedness; empowerment of women; relational empowerment; well-being.