The Dragonfly Effect: Analysis of the Social Media Women’s Empowerment Campaign

Abstract

Social media can advocate for social causes and catalyse audience support. To better understand the role of social media in advocacy communication, this article explores how advocates utilised Facebook to advocate for the ‘Taa Marbuta’ women empowerment campaign in Egypt. Our research draws on the dragonfly effect model and muted group theory as theoretical and analytical frameworks. In-depth interviews are conducted with advocates from all campaign partners who were directly involved in planning and managing the campaign. Following the dragonfly effect model, findings show that the campaign has a clear goal and uses various message strategies and pop culture for grabbing audience attention and generating audience engagement; however, there is no clear call for action. Thematic analysis also reveals two emerging themes: customisation of women empowerment communication and a supportive community of women empowerment that can stimulate societal debates necessary for social change. This study contends that including men can mitigate the muted effect on women in a male-dominant society and paves the way towards women’s empowerment. Overall, this study shows how social media helps make the ‘Taa Marbuta’ campaign an icon of women empowerment.

Exploring the Role of Muted Group Theory in Understanding Women's Experiences: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Nevertheless, it is worth noting that women can mitigate the impacts of the muted group theory by diminishing the prominence of men. This approach can potentially reduce the muted effects experienced by women in predominantly male-dominated societies, thus facilitating the advancement of women's empowerment (Shata & Seelig, 2021).…”

Social Commerce and Its Role in Women’s Empowerment and Innovation in Crises

“…Most of these studies have linked e-business and women's empowerment through entrepreneurship. With the development and widespread of social computing platforms, scholars have intended to explore the role of social media in women's empowerment focusing on different social and gender issues (Cesaroni et al, 2017;Gangwani et al, 2021;Shata & Seelig, 2021).…”

“…Social media has enabled entrepreneurial women to gain broader information and knowledge in detecting novel business opportunities. Paoloni et al (2019) and Shata, and Seelig (2021) emphasized the role of social media in women's empowerment and overcoming obstacles by creating novel business environments for them. Social media has helped women overcome the constraints of initiating or expanding their businesses.…”

“…Digitalization has encouraged women to act as digital entrepreneurs, outcoming new innovative business forms (Olsson & Bernhard, 2020). Many scholars have confirmed that social computing platforms have enabled business women to be more innovative through sharing and creating new knowledge with others (Cesaroni et al, 2017;Shata & Seelig, 2021;Sultan & Sharmin, 2020). Chatterjee et al (2020) stated that social media had fueled women's innovation and entrepreneurial orientation and it has enabled new innovative categories of women entrepreneurs in many business fields.…”

“…The social, economic, and public health challenges and difficult living conditions that COVID-19 caused have increased pressure on women to assume more responsibility for their families and society, where creating employment opportunities has become a more imperious than ever in an environment with high unemployment rates. The literature emphasized that Information Technology (IT) advances have transformed women's social, economic, and political lives and enabled them to participate in bridging many socio-economic gaps by reshaping and creating new opportunities for growth and development of their role in society, facilitating women's empowerment (Shata & Seelig, 2021;Shukla et al, 2021). Digital platforms have been credited with providing a woman with novel employment prospects, self-employment opportunities, and further social development on the individual and communal levels, transforming women's self-efficacy and mobilizing social support .…”