Journal of Rural Development

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Economic Empowerment Analysis of Women in West Bengal Using Multivariate Techniques


Affiliations
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, J D Birla Institute, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
2 Professor, Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM), Kolkata, West Bengal, India
     

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Women empowerment is a prime concept in the development of a nation. Empowering women is a multidimensional holistic approach. It covers many features, but economic empowerment is considered to be one of the most important aspects of the development and welfare of women. This empirical study is conducted to quantify the level of economic empowerment of women. The present research also aims to identify whether involvement in microfinance activity plays a role in the achievement of a high economic empowerment level. It is also finding out the socio-economic factors that are essential for their sustainable economic empowerment. This study is based on the primary data collected from 414 women residing in nine Blocks of South 24 Parganas district. It is found that involvement in microfinance activities does have a positive impact on the achievement of the empowerment level. Discriminant Analysis has been used to identify the influencing factors which are discriminating the respondents involved in microfinance activities and doing or not doing any entrepreneurial activity. The analysis revealed the fact that microfinance activities can be very fruitful and helpful for the members only if they utilise the fund for a productive purpose which can help them come out of the poverty trap.

Keywords

Women Empowerment, Microfinance, Entrepreneurial Activities, Self-Help Group.
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  • Economic Empowerment Analysis of Women in West Bengal Using Multivariate Techniques

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Authors

Swapnapriya Sethy
Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, J D Birla Institute, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Chinmoy Jana
Professor, Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM), Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Abstract


Women empowerment is a prime concept in the development of a nation. Empowering women is a multidimensional holistic approach. It covers many features, but economic empowerment is considered to be one of the most important aspects of the development and welfare of women. This empirical study is conducted to quantify the level of economic empowerment of women. The present research also aims to identify whether involvement in microfinance activity plays a role in the achievement of a high economic empowerment level. It is also finding out the socio-economic factors that are essential for their sustainable economic empowerment. This study is based on the primary data collected from 414 women residing in nine Blocks of South 24 Parganas district. It is found that involvement in microfinance activities does have a positive impact on the achievement of the empowerment level. Discriminant Analysis has been used to identify the influencing factors which are discriminating the respondents involved in microfinance activities and doing or not doing any entrepreneurial activity. The analysis revealed the fact that microfinance activities can be very fruitful and helpful for the members only if they utilise the fund for a productive purpose which can help them come out of the poverty trap.

Keywords


Women Empowerment, Microfinance, Entrepreneurial Activities, Self-Help Group.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.25175/jrd%2F2021%2Fv40%2Fi4%2F144217