chapter 6 impact of microfinance on women...
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Chapter 6
Impact of Microfinance on Women Empowerment
6.1 Introduction
The unique feature of microfinance programme is that it focuses on women for
development. There are more than ninety per cent women clients under this programme.
The basic idea is to empower women by providing them financial assistance and
allowing them to earn an independent income, contribute financially to their households
and generate self-employment. This economic independence is expected to generate
increased self-respect, self-esteem, self-confidence and other forms of empowerment for
women participants of the programme. The process of empowerment of the beneficiaries
of the programme is not automatic, but depends upon many factors. These factors may
be abilities, environment, initiative and status of women as group.
There is no dearth of studies which show that with the help of microfinance the
status of a woman improves in the family; she earns greater respect in the family than
before; she participates in the decision-making and community meetings; and she gets
freedom to move for the betterment of the micro-business. It may be due to the fact that
women become able to contribute financially to the family. In fact, microfinance
programme increases economic, social, and political empowerment. Microfinance
programme may be an important programme but not a panacea to end all the problems
that poor face. Hence, the programme beneficiaries must efficiently use the financial
support to start small businesses that will help in uplifting standard of life and
empowerment of women. The present chapter studies the impact of microfinance
programme on women empowerment.
This chapter has been divided into three sections. The first section deals with the
concept and indicators of women empowerment. The second section deals with the
impact of microfinance on women empowerment and the third section explains the
determinants of women empowerment.
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Section-I
6.2 Concept of Empowerment
There is no consensus on the concept of empowerment. It may be because of the
fact that different experts and different disciplines use this concept differently. A brief
discussion will be presented here to clearly present the difference of opinion and making
an understanding of the meaning of empowerment for the study in hand.
The dictionary meaning of the word ‘empower’ is “to give power or authority to
someone.” Thereafter, it begins to be used with an infinitive in a more general way
meaning “to enable or permit.” Both of these uses survive today. The concept is
extensively used in politics and psychology. Its modern use originated in the American
civil rights movements during 1960 to 1980 which sought political empowerment for its
followers. The concept was then taken up by the women’s movement, conservatives and
social reformers.
Empowerment is an intrinsic quality of a person, which cannot be bestowed by a
third party. It is considered that an empowered person’s behaviour undergoes a change.
In a nutshell, empowerment is a process which enables one to gain power, authority and
influence over others. In the literature published on the subject, the empowerment is
considered to be matching with the following traits or capabilities:
• Having decision-making power of one’s own
• Having access to information and resources for taking proper decision
• Having a range of options from which one can make choices (not just yes/no,
either/or)
• Ability to exercise assertiveness in collective decision-making
• Having positive thinking about the ability to make change
• Ability to learn skills for improving one’s personal or group power
• Ability to change others’ perceptions by democratic means
• Involving in the growth process and change that is never ending and self-
initiated.
In short, empowerment is a process that allows one to gain knowledge, power,
skill-sets and attitude needed to cope with the changing world and the circumstances in
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which one lives. Empowerment helps the person concerned to exploit the economic
environment in increasing the productivity of self, family and the society on the whole.
Some of the experts explain the concept of empowerment as follows:
Wallerstein (1992) defined empowerment as “people assuming control and
mastery over their own lives in the context of their social and political environment.”
Some other researchers describe empowerment as a continuous, ongoing and interactive
process that leads to enhancement of abilities and a wider scope for choice and action of
an individual. Thus, empowerment leads to equity and well-being of the individual and
the community.
Batliwala (1994) characterised empowerment as control over resources (both
material and intellectual) and ideology, and an empowered person uses them according
to his ideology or belief. It is a process of challenging existing power relations and of
gaining greater control over the sources of power. The author has described that
empowerment is the enhancement of power.
Rowlands (1997) explained empowerment as a process of enabling or authorising
an individual to think, behave, take action and controlling work in an autonomous way. It
involves some degree of personal development. Individuals become empowered when
they obtain the right to determine choices in life and to influence the direction of change
through the ability to gain control over material and non-material resources. The World
Bank ‘Empowerment Source Book’ also defines empowerment in the same way.
Chambers (1997) defined empowerment “as an interactive process, it requires
and implies developmental change in power relations and behaviour within the
community’s individuals and institutions. The power relations can, therefore, be
analysed under the institutional, professional and personal elements of the community.”
Page and Czuba (1999) explained that there are three basic components of
empowerment - multi-dimensional, social and a process. It is multi-dimensional because
it occurs within sociological, psychological, economic and other dimensions at various
levels, such as individual, group and community. It is social because it occurs in
relationship to others. It is a process as it may remain always ongoing without any final
goal.
Kabeer (2001) defined empowerment as “the expansion in people's ability to
make strategic life choices in a context where this ability was previously denied to
them.” This definition contains two elements, (i) the idea of process, or change from a
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condition of disempowerment, and (ii) the idea of human agency and choice. This helps
in distinguishing empowerment from other closely related concepts like women’s
autonomy, gender equality, gender discrimination etc.
After defining the term ‘empowerment’, an attempt has been made to clear the
meaning of women empowerment.
6.3 Women Empowerment
Recently, the World Bank has made gender mainstreaming a priority in
development assistance. In a policy research report, World Bank (2001) identified both
gender equality and women empowerment as development objectives and means to
promote growth, reduce poverty and support better governance. In the literature available
on women empowerment, some of the concepts like gender equality, female autonomy
or women status etc. are referring to as either similar or different concepts.
As described by Kabeer (2001) there are two essential elements of women
empowerment, i.e., process and agency. A process is defined as the series of events that
produce gradual change. The process of women empowerment leads to expansion in
their ability to have resources and to make strategic life choices. The agency element of
women empowerment describes that women themselves are the significant actors in the
process of change. It is the process through which choices are made. Empowerment
cannot be offered by a third party rather it has to be claimed by those who would become
empowered. Kabeer (1999) explained that women’s empowerment refers to the process
by which those who have been denied the ability to make strategic life choices, acquire
such ability. The ability to exercise choices incorporates three inter-related dimensions:
Resources, which include access as well as future claims to both material and social
resources; Agency, which includes the process of decision-making, negotiation,
deception and manipulation; and Achievements, which refers to the well-being outcomes
of choice.
Agency is a central concept used in a study by Sen (1999). Kabeer’s (2001)
understanding of agency is mainly based upon Sen’s study. Agency is defined as an
actor’s ability and involvement to make meaningful choices. It encompasses the ability
to formulate strategic choices, to control resources and decisions that affect important
life outcomes.
Longwe and Clarke (1994) explained women empowerment as an on-going
cyclical process having five stages. The first stage is welfare stage and at this stage the
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women’s resources are not fully recognised and met. The second is access stage, where
women recognise it and take action to gain access to these resources. The third stage is
the conscientisation level stage, where women realise that their lack of access to
resources and their general subordinate status are due to socially constructed beliefs and
phenomena. The fourth stage is the participation level stage, where women become
actively involved in decision-making processes within their households, communities
and societies. The final stage is control stage, in which women get control over access to
resources and distribution of benefits by increasing their participation. This control
increases women’s power and respect within their households, communities and societies
at large.
Different researchers have explained women empowerment by considering its
different aspects. According to Pillai (1995), women empowerment is an active, multi-
dimensional process which enables women to realise their full identity and powers in all
spheres of life. Power is neither a commodity to be transacted nor can it be given away
as alms. Power has to be acquired and once acquired it needs to be exercised, sustained
and preserved.
Stromquist (1995) wrote that empowerment includes both cognitive and
psychological elements. It involves “women’s understanding of their conditions of
subordination and the causes of such conditions at both micro and macro levels of
society. It involves understanding the self and the need to make choices that may go
against cultural and social expectations”.
This means that the whole process of women empowerment requires the ability
and active involvement of women themselves. If it does not include women as the agents
of that change rather than merely as its recipients, it cannot be considered as
empowerment. This implies that women empowerment is a ‘bottom up’ rather than ‘top
down’ approach. Empowerment cannot be injected from outside, rather it has to be
acquired by the women through their active involvement in the development process. But
it does not imply that all improvements in women position are brought about by women
themselves only. Social and political environment is also considered to play an important
role in the same. It is the responsibility of the governments and multilaterals to promote
policies to set up such type of legal, political and economic environment which help
women to have greater access to resources and promote gender equality. For instance, in
India through the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment a provision is made for
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reservation of 1/3rd seats mandatory for women in Panchayati Raj institutions and local
bodies and has generated a suitable environment for their political empowerment.
In this way, women empowerment is a process of improvement in the existing
status and abilities of women to make them able to lead their lives in an autonomous
way. Women empowerment is a complicated and continuous process, which aims at
changing the way of thinking of the whole society to ensure equal enjoyment of human
rights for all. It is a continuous process of increasing the economic, social, political and
psychological strengths.
The supporting agencies, social, political, cultural, financial etc., which are
involved in uplifting the cause of women cannot claim that they have empowered women
with their help. One cannot claim empowerment unless the intervening process involved
women as agents of that change. Kumar and Paul (2007) wrote, “development agencies
cannot claim to empower women rather they can provide appropriate external support
and intervention which can, however, be important to foster and support the process of
empowerment, i.e., act as facilitators”.
6.4 Microfinance and Women Empowerment
In this study, an empowered woman is considered to be one who has made her
life better by having access to and utilisation of resources provided by microfinance
programme. She also exerts and participates in the household decision-making. She
shows self-confidence and also participates in the democratic institutions in the rural
area. She has general awareness of the existing social, economic and political
environment.
6.5 Measurement of Women Empowerment
The measurement of empowerment is not a trivial issue, which can be without
assumptions and limitations. Basically, the study of the measurement of empowerment
can only be in a given socio-economic-political context in which an intervention is made.
The measurement aspect can differentiate between ongoing aspects of customs, traditions
and natural behaviour of women (which may be restricting their progress) and the change
in behaviour after intervention and emerge as subservient to the existing norms.
Malhotra et al. (2002) emphasized that measurement of empowerment is a
primary development issue and so far neither the World Bank nor any other credible
agency has given a rigorous methodology for measuring the changes in level of women
empowerment.
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The main problems in measuring the empowerment are:
• The measurement of women empowerment involves both quantitative as well as
qualitative data such as access to financial resources, participation in household
decision-making, change in the level of self-confidence, self-esteem, level of
spatial mobility, level of awareness etc. The qualitative indicators of
empowerment are difficult to measure.
• Empowerment is an ongoing process and to measure the changes in a process,
data is to be collected for at least two points in time. But this method is further
restricted as it is difficult to decide the time gap over which the changes are to be
measured because some signs of empowerment can be seen in a short time period
of 2 to 3 years while for others a longer time period may be required. There may
be a shift in the relevance of empowerment indicators over time. Also, more time
and resources are required to measure the impact.
Due to the complexity of defining and measuring women empowerment, only a
few empirical studies on the subject have tried to examine the impact of microfinance on
women empowerment. In order to measure the impact of microfinance programme on
women empowerment, some of the studies have compared the status of the participants
after joining the microfinance programme with their status before joining the
programme. The changes over time are considered as the impact of microfinance
programme. Some of the studies have used the retrospective methods where the data is
not collected for two time periods rather the participants are asked to give information
regarding their past situation on the basis of their memory. However, some researchers
have measured the impact by comparing the participants of the programme with that of
the non-participants from similar social and economic background.
The UNDP’s Human Development Report (1995) introduced two complementary
indexes: the Gender-related Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment
Measure (GEM). The GDI indicator measures the inequalities between men and women
in terms of access to basic needs, whereas GEM evaluates women’s access to political
and economic posts, i.e., share of women seats in parliament/assemblies, the share of
supervisory, administrative and technical posts. The GDI focuses on the extension of
capabilities, whereas the GEM is concerned with the use of those capabilities to take
advantage of the opportunities of life.
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Most of the studies have measured the women empowerment with the help of an
index. Mizan’s (1994) study uses an index named ‘Household Decision Making
(HHDM)’ index to explore the impact of micro-credit on women’s empowerment. She
uses a number of indicators such as women’s role in household decision-making, their
control over fertility decisions, uses of healthcare services for self and the family and
participation in voting.
Goetz and Gupta (1996) hypothesised that control over loan activity is, in fact, a
critical control point in the process by which access to loans translates into a range of
valued achievements, and then managerial control can serve as an indicator of
empowerment. They build an index of managerial control in order to classify the
borrowers into five categories ranging from no control (no knowledge of the use of the
loan or no contribution in terms of labour input and managerial control) to full control
(knowledge of the use of the loans and full control over the entire productive process,
including marketing).
In another study, Hashemi et al. (1996) investigated the change in women
empowerment as a result of participation in the microfinance programme of Grameen
Bank and Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC). They created an
empowerment indicator which is called an ‘index of empowerment’ based on eight
criteria: mobility, economic security, ability to make small and large purchases,
involvement in major household decisions, relative freedom from domination by the
family, political and legal awareness, and participation in public protests and political
campaigns. A woman is empowered if she has a positive score on five or more, out of
eight indicators.
Amin et al. (1998) split the concept of women’s empowerment into three
components each measured separately: Inter-spouse consultation index which seeks to
represent the extent to which husbands consult their wives in household affairs;
Individual autonomy index which represents women’s self-reported autonomy of
physical movement outside the house and in matters of spending money; and the
Authority index which reports on actual decision-making power (which is traditionally in
the hands of the patriarch of the family).
Some of the researchers raised doubts about the appropriateness of the
construction of indices for measurement of women empowerment. According to them
assigning equal weights to various indicators of empowerment is not appropriate. For
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example, decision of visiting a nearby market and participation in a decision to buy a
piece of land, both these decisions have different implications and magnitude of impact
on women empowerment. Assigning equal weights to these different types of decisions
may lead to inaccurate results.
Thus, there cannot be a universal theory for measurement of empowerment.
However, it depends upon the researcher to select representative indicators of women
empowerment. The researcher should have good knowledge of social, economic and
political environment of the area of study while choosing empowerment indicators and
assigning weights to them. The present study also uses an index for measuring women
empowerment. The index comprises of various indicators which determine women
empowerment. The data for these indicators was collected during the field survey.
6.6 Indicators of Women Empowerment Used in the Present Study
One can adjudge empowerment through indicators. These indicators can be given
values, based on the judgment of the researcher. Some of the studies assign weights to
the indicators, which are mostly arbitrary. However, there cannot be any complete or
absolute measure of empowerment because the nature of the concept is such that it is
multifaceted concept which is not readily quantifiable.
The indicators selected by different studies for the measurement of empowerment
may be relevant for some places/time and irrelevant for others. It can be said that
empowerment is context and region specific which implies that there cannot be some
standard indicators of women empowerment, applicable to all times and places. The
behaviours and attributes that signify empowerment in one context/region/period may
have different meanings elsewhere. For example, the ability to visit to market alone may
be an indicator of empowerment in a village but it may not be an indicator in a city. In
some countries, coming out of purdah may be a symbol of women empowerment but in
others it may not be considered as an indicator of empowerment. So, the measurement of
empowerment through indicators can only be in a given socio-economic and political
context where an intervention is made.
There have been several efforts to devise micro indicators of empowerment. In
this effort, Kabeer (2001), Mayoux (2000), Goetz & Gupta (1996), Rahman (1999),
Ackerley (1995), John Snow Inc. (JSI) (1990), Longwe (1999) and Hashemi et al. (1996)
have provided their own indicators. Table 6.1 shows the six domains of empowerment as
suggested by the JSI (1990).
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Table 6.1: JSI Six Domains of Empowerment
Domain Expressions 1. Sense of Self &
vision of a future Assertiveness, plans for the future, future-oriented actions, relative freedom from threat of physical violence, awareness of own problems and options, actions indicating sense of security.
2. Mobility & visibility
Activities outside of the home, relative freedom from harassment in public spaces, interaction with men.
3. Economic Security
Property ownership, new skills and knowledge and increased income, engaged in new/non-traditional types of work.
4. Status & decision-making power within the household
Self-confidence, controlling spending money, enhanced status in the family, controls/spends money, participation in/makes decisions on allocation of resources, not dominated by others.
5. Ability to interact effectively in the public sphere
Awareness of legal status and services available, ability to get access to social services, political awareness, participation in credit program, provider of service in community.
6. Participation on non-family groups
Identified as a person outside of the family, forum for creating sense of solidarity with other women, self-expression and articulation of problems, participating in a group with autonomous structure.
Mostly, indicators of empowerment are proxy variables. During the field survey a
number of questions were asked to capture the process of decision-making, control,
choice etc. Such questions are observed as most effective representations of the process
of empowerment. The indicators of empowerment based on field survey questions are
specific and relevant within a particular social context. However, it points towards the
impact of intervention (in this case microfinance programme) on the condition and
process of the empowerment of women.
The present study takes into consideration twenty-one indicators under four
domains of women empowerment which measure economic; socio-cultural and familial;
political; and education, skill and training empowerment. Table 6.2 shows these four
domains and twenty one indicators of women empowerment. In order to quantify the
impact of microfinance programme on women empowerment a composite empowerment
index is prepared. The scores assigned to different indicators are given in the Appendix-
II.
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Table 6.2: Indicators of Women Empowerment
Domain Indicators 1. Economic
Empowerment 1.1 Women access to employment 1.2 Women contribution to household income 1.3 Access to and control over household resources 1.4 Participation in household financial decision-making 1.5 Saving in bank account
2. Socio-cultural and Familial Empowerment
2.1 Women freedom and confidence of movement 2.2 Visiting market for purchase of household goods 2.3 Ability to raise voice against social exploitation 2.4 Attitude towards the education of daughters 2.5 Getting help of other family members 2.6 Participation in the general domestic matters
3. Political Empowerment
3.1 Exercising the right to vote 3.2 Awareness of local, state level and national polity 3.3 Participation in panchayat meetings 3.4 Leadership quality
4. Education, Skill and Training Empowerment
4.1 Education and ability to read and write 4.2 Having workable knowledge of calculations 4.3 Maintaining records of financial transactions 4.4 Understanding of basic banking process 4.5 Read newspaper/view TV for general awareness 4.6 Training for job
Source: Own Compilation
The impact of these indicators on the level of women empowerment is measured
in the following section.
Section-II
6.7 Impact of Microfinance on Women Empowerment
The role and impact of microfinance programme on the various domains of
women empowerment has been measured as discussed below:
6.7.1 Economic Empowerment
Microfinance through SHGs has linked rural poor women with formal credit
delivery system, provided micro-loans and has encouraged them to start micro-
enterprises. This programme has helped in increasing self-employment as well as income
of the participants and helped them to become economically more empowered than non-
participants.
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(i) Women’s Access to Employment
Traditionally, it was used to be thought that women are capable of performing
domestic chores only. But, employed women, wage or self-employed, discard this social
belief. Employment provides them an opportunity to come out of the four walls of their
house. Employment leads to possession over income, knowledge, awareness and self-
confidence. Employment gives exposure to the outside world. Therefore, women’s
access to employment is an important indicator of empowerment.
The study shows that the microfinance programme has helped the participants in
increasing employment, particularly self-employment. With the help of micro-loans the
programme participants have become self-employed in small business such as stitching
and embroidery, rearing milch animals, rope and garland making, soap, surf, jam, chalk
and candle making and have started petty shops. As discussed in section 5.8.1, 80 per
cent of the participants and 48 per cent of the non-participants are engaged in some
income generating activity. Section 5.8.2 shows that the participants are employed for
more number of days as compared to the non-participants. The participants are employed
for 160 person-days per annum, whereas the non-participants are employed only for 78
person-days per annum. Therefore, the programme participants have more access to
employment as compared to the non-participants.
(ii) Women Contribution to Household Income
The addition in household income improves the status of a woman within her
family. This increases her recognition, self-esteem, power and control over the family.
The contribution to the household income helps women to become economically
independent and financial decision-maker in the household expenditure. Microfinance
programme has helped the women participants to increase their contribution to the
household income. Section 5.3.1 shows that average income of the participants is Rs.
1,746 per month as compared to Rs. 638 of the non-participants. As a result,
microfinance programme has generated additional income of Rs. 1,108 per month for the
programme participants.
(iii) Access to and Control over Family Resources
Access to and control over household resources has been considered as the
possession of house, land, gold and jewellery, etc. If a woman owns the house/land, she
gets more respect and feels more control over the family. The possession of gold and
jewellery leads to economic security. Microfinance programme increases the economic
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prospectus of the participants, which helps them to have access to and control over the
household economic resources. Data was collected regarding the women’s ownership of
house, ownership of land and regarding the possession of gold and jewellery. The results
presented in Table 6.3 show that just 6 per cent of the participants and 2 per cent of the
non-participants own house in their name and just 1 per cent of the participants and 2 per
cent of the non-participants own land. Chi-square test shows insignificant difference
among participants and non-participants regarding their ownership of house and land.
Table 6.3: Access to and Control over Family Resources
Participants Non-participants Indicator Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
Yes 05 (06)
06 (08)
01 (04)
12 (06)
01 (01)
02 (03)
01 (04)
04 (02) Ownership
of House No 85 (94)
68 (92)
25 (96)
178 (94)
89 (99)
72 (97)
25 (96)
186 (98)
Yes - 02 (03) - 02
(01) - 03 (04) - 03
(02) Ownership of Land No 90
(100) 72
(97) 26
(100) 188 (99)
90 (100)
71 (96)
26 (100)
187 (98)
Yes 70 (78)
47 (64)
15 (58)
132 (69)
45 (50)
31 (42)
11 (42)
87 (46)
Possession of Gold
and Jewellery No 20
(22) 27
(36) 11
(42) 58
(31) 45
(50) 43
(58) 15
(58) 103 (54)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants.
Chi-square (χ2) = 2.08, 0.35 and 10.82. Table values at 5 % and 1 % with 1 degree of freedom (d.f.) are 3.84 and 6.63 respectively.
The respondents were also asked about their possession of gold and jewellery. It
is found that 69 per cent of the participants and 46 per cent of the non-participants
possess some gold and jewellery. One of the reasons of large number of the participants
having possession of gold may be their economic prosperity. Chi-square (χ2) test shows
significant differences among the participants and non-participants regarding the
possession of gold.
(iv) Role of Women in Household Financial Decision-making
Women involved in the household financial decision-making are definitely more
empowered because generally male members of the family dominate in financial
decision-making. The respondents were asked about their independence and contribution
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in making financial decisions like budget allocation, when to get a loan, amount and
source of loan, buying and selling of household durables etc. Table 6.4 shows the role of
women in the household financial decision-making.
Table 6.4: Role of Women in Household Financial Decision-Making
Participants Non-participants Financial Decision-making Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
Self - dominate 21 (23)
19 (26) - 40
(21) 11
(12) 08
(11) 02
(08) 21
(11) Husband - dominate
04 (05)
03 (04)
03 (12)
10 (5)
12 (13)
07 (10)
04 (15)
23 (12)
Jointly by self & husband
63 (70)
52 (70)
23 (88)
138 (73)
63 (70)
55 (74)
19 (73)
137 (72)
Other members dominate
02 (02) - - 02
(01) 04
(05) 04
(05) 01
(04) 09
(05)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-
square (χ2) = 8.67. Table values at 5 % and 1 % with 3 d.f. = 7.81 and 11.3 respectively.
A perusal of the table shows that 21 per cent of the participants and just 11 per
cent of the non-participants dominate in household financial decisions. However, in a
majority of cases, both husband and wife jointly take the household decisions. Seventy-
three per cent of the participants and 72 per cent of the non-participant women take
financial decisions jointly with their husbands. The Chi-square (χ2) test also shows that
the difference between participants and non-participants regarding their role in
household financial decision-making is significant at 5 per cent level of significance. In
this way, microfinance programme raises the economic status of women and they feel
more empowered within their family.
(v) Saving in Bank Account
If a woman having a savings bank account, deposits money regularly in the
account in her individual capacity, she is considered to have more foresightedness and
economically aware as compared to those who do not take this initiative. Here, the
amount of deposit, which is necessary for SHG to get microfinance benefit, is not given
any significance. However, the saving in addition to this compulsory monthly saving has
been considered for empowerment.
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Microfinance programme has developed the banking habits of self-help group
members who contribute to the group savings fund through fixed instalments at regular
intervals. This develops the habit of thrift and banking. A perusal of Table 6.5 shows that
30 per cent of the participants deposit money regularly in their account as compared to
only 18 per cent of the non-participants.
Table 6.5: Saving in Bank Account
Participants Non-participants Saving in Bank Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
Regular Saving
25 (28)
24 (32)
08 (31)
57 (30)
12 (13)
19 (26)
04 (15)
35 (18)
Occasional Saving
31 (34)
12 (17)
02 (07)
45 (24)
24 (27)
09 (12)
03 (12)
36 (19)
No Saving 34 (38)
38 (51)
16 (62)
88 (46)
54 (60)
46 (62)
19 (73)
119 (63)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-
square (χ2) = 6.24. Table values at 5% and 1% with 2 d.f. = 5.99 and 9.21 respectively.
It is also observed that 24 per cent of the participants and 19 per cent of the non-
participants deposit money occasionally in their savings bank account. The Chi-square
(χ2) test shows that the difference in the banking habits among the participants and non-
participants are significant at 5 per cent level of significance.
6.7.2 Socio-cultural and Familial Empowerment
Microfinance programme pursued through SHGs is a collective effort of group
participants. The members co-operate one another, deal with other members of the
society, and meet the members of other groups in their joint group meetings. In this way,
they develop a social behaviour. Women are given an opportunity to come out of the
four walls of their houses and meet other members of the society, which leads to their
socio-cultural and familial empowerment.
(i) Women’s Freedom and Confidence of Movement
The traditional social norms restrict women’s freedom of movement. But if a
woman becomes able to attain such freedom she is considered to be more empowered.
SHG activities encourage and offer an opportunity to their members to visit other places
for acquiring skills, training and exhibiting their products in various fairs and
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exhibitions. Exposure of the members in the programme increases their confidence in
travelling to other places. However, some of the women are hesitant and do not take
these activities themselves and they remain laggards. Table 6.6 shows the confidence of
SHG members to visit a city, nearest town or a village.
Table 6.6: Women’s Freedom and Confidence of Movement
Participants Non-participants Level of Confidence Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.More
confident 39
(43) 43
(58) 06
(23) 88
(46) 11
(12) 12
(16) 03
(12) 26
(14) Less
confident 30
(33) 22
(30) 05
(19) 57
(30) 56
(62) 36
(49) 09
(34) 101 (53)
Travelling to a city
Can’t go 21 (24)
09 (12)
15 (58)
45 (24)
23 (26)
26 (35)
14 (54)
63 (33)
More confident
72 (80)
66 (89)
12 (46)
150 (79)
65 (72)
52 (70)
15 (58)
132 (69)
Less confident
16 (18)
06 (08)
09 (35)
31 (16)
23 (26)
18 (24)
08 (31)
49 (26)
Travelling to a nearest town
Can’t go 02 (02)
02 (03)
05 (19)
09 (05)
02 (02)
04 (06)
03 (11)
09 (05)
More confident
86 (96)
71 (96)
24 (92)
181 (95)
84 (93)
65 (88)
21 (81)
170 (89)
Less confident
03 (03)
02 (03)
01 (04)
06 (03)
04 (05)
06 (08)
05 (19)
15 (08)
Travelling to a nearest village
Can’t go 01 (01)
01 (01)
01 (04)
03 (02)
02 (02)
03 (04) - 05
(03)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-sq.
(χ2) =24.86, 3.06 and 2.668. Table values at 5% and 1% with 2 d.f. =5.99 & 9.21 respectively. It has been observed that only 46 per cent of the participants are more confident
to visit a city. However, 79 per cent participants are confident to visit a nearest town as
compared to 69 per cent of non-participants. It is clear from the table that participants of
the programme are more confident in visiting cities and towns than non-participants.
Chi-square test shows very significant differences among participants and non-
participants regarding their confidence in travelling to a city. However, the differences
regarding their confidence to visit nearest town and village are not statistically
significant.
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(ii) Visiting Market for Purchase of Household Goods
Visiting market increases the ability of a woman in various ways. Her self-
confidence increases because she travels, crosses busy roads, bargains and reports
complaints of defective products etc. Her decision-making capacity is increased because
she plans her visit and uses her choice to select a product. Her ability to make
calculations also increases. During a visit, meeting and conversing with other people
helps to increase her motivation, social relations and knowledge.
The women starting their business under the microfinance programme are often
required to visit the market for the purchase of raw materials or selling their products. It
results in enhancing their self-confidence and they feel no hesitation to visit the market
for the purchase of goods. Table 6.7 shows that 85 per cent of the participants as
compared to just 71 per cent of the non-participants are more confident to visit the
market for the purchase of goods. Ten per cent of the participants and 25 per cent of the
non-participants are found to be less confident. However, five per cent of the participants
and four per cent of the non-participants are not confident to visit the market. Chi-square
test shows that these differences are significant at 5 per cent level of significance.
Table 6.7: Ability to Visit Market
Participants Non-participants Level of Confidence
Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.More confident
76 (84)
69 (93)
17 (65)
162 (85)
65 (72)
56 (76)
14 (54)
135 (71)
Less confident
09 (10)
04 (06)
06 (23)
19 (10)
23 (26)
14 (19)
11 (42)
48 (25)
Confidence and Ability to visit the market for purchase of raw materials and household goods Not
confident05
(06) 01
(01) 03
(12) 09
(05) 02
(02) 04
(05) 01
(04) 07
(04)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-sq.
(χ2) =7.8. Table values at 5% and 1% with 2 d.f. =5.99 & 9.21 respectively.
(iii) Ability to Raise Voice Against Social Exploitation
This indicator represents the awareness and self-confidence of a woman. A self-
confident woman having awareness about her rights does not tolerate the undue troubles
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created by other members of the society. She is able to raise her voice in the village
Gram-Sabha/Panchayat meetings against the common problems and exploitation of any
kind.
SHG members visit other villages; interact with important local people; go to the
banks; and meet various government officials. This helps to increase their level of
confidence in dealing with officials, group members and other members of the
community. The SHG members arrange weekly or fortnightly meetings where they
discuss their personal as well as social problems. These activities enable them not only to
find solution of their personal problems in their households but also to take up the
common issues in the Gram Sabha/ Panchayat meetings. In this study, the respondents
were asked whether they are concerned about the social problems like dowry, female
foeticide, drug addiction, injustice and domestic violence, and raise their voice against
such evils. Table 6.8 shows that 74 per cent of the participants and just 27 per cent of the
non-participants are more confident in raising their voice against these social problems.
Chi-square test shows that there is a very significant difference among participants and
non-participants regarding their confidence in raising voice against social exploitation.
Table 6.8: Ability to Raise Voice against Social Exploitation
Participants Non-participants Level of Confidence Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
More confident
64 (71)
62 (84)
15 (58)
141 (74)
26 (29)
18 (25)
08 (31)
52 (27)
Less confident
26 (29)
11 (15)
10 (38)
47 (25)
64 (71)
55 (74)
18 (69)
137 (72)
Raising voice against social exploitation Not
confident - 01 (01)
01 (04)
02 (01) - 01
(01) - 01 (01)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-
square (χ2) = 44.66. Table values at 5% and 1% with 2 d.f. = 5.99 and 9.21 respectively.
(iv) Attitude towards the Education of Daughters
This indicator represents the thinking, awareness, psychology and authority of a
woman. The sense of gender equality in a woman advocates the idea to send her girl
child to a school. She will be considered socially empowered if she takes a decision for
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the well-being of her family against the general social customs. Both the participant and
non-participant women are found to be aware of the importance of education for their
girl child. It is found that almost all the children up to the age of 10 are going to schools
without discrimination of their sex. But at the higher education level, greater number of
female children of the participants are getting education as compared to the non-
participants. The reason may be that the participants are more able to bear the higher
education expenditure as compared to the non-participants.
(v) Getting Help of Other Family Members
Traditionally, all the household activities are considered to be performed by the
women in our society. But, the women who start doing income-generating activities,
generally, get the help and support of their family members in performing household
daily routine work. As the microfinance programme participants become productive
members they remain busy with their job. They need to spend time for managing SHG
activities such as attending group meetings, visiting banks and maintaining record of the
group affairs. It is found during the field survey that the other members of the family
have started helping SHG members in their routine domestic activities. Table 6.9 shows
that 73 per cent of the participants and 55 per cent of the non-participants are helped
regularly by other family members in their domestic chores. However, twenty-six per
cent of the participants and 35 per cent of the non-participants get such help
occasionally. Chi-square test shows a significant difference among the participants and
non-participants regarding the help given by other household members in their domestic
jobs.
Table 6.9: Help by Other Members of the Family in Domestic Work
Participants Non-participants Help by Other Family Members Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
Regularly 57 (63)
68 (92)
15 (58)
140 (73)
47 (52)
52 (70)
05 (19)
104 (55)
Occasionally 33 (37)
05 (07)
11 (42)
49 (26)
34 (38)
15 (20)
17 (66)
66 (35)
Never - 01 (01) - 01
(01) 09
(10) 07
(10) 04
(15) 20
(10)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants.
Chi-sq. (χ2) =11.24. Table values at 5% and 1% with 2 d.f. =5.99 & 9.21 respectively.
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(vi) Participation in General Domestic Matters
The way women are involved in the domestic matters reflects their importance in
the family. More involvement in various decisions raises their self-respect. During the
field survey, women were asked whether they are involved in the domestic matters, i.e.,
from small decisions such as the type and brand of oil, soap and tooth paste, cooking oil
etc. to be purchased to the major decisions like education and marriage of their children
etc. Microfinance programme has made women economically independent, and hence
increased their respect in their families. As a result, their participation in the general
domestic matters is considered quite important. Table 6.10 carries the data showing the
role of women in the general domestic matters.
Table 6.10: Participation in the General Domestic Matters
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-
square (χ2) = 8.72. Table values at 5% and 1% with 2 d.f. = 5.99 and 9.21 respectively
A perusal of the table provides that 23 per cent of the participants and 12 per cent
of the non-participants are more participative in the general domestic matters. However,
seventy-one per cent each of the participants and non-participants are less participative in
the general domestic matters. Chi-square test shows that the differences are significant at
5 per cent level of significance.
6.7.3 Political Empowerment
Self-confident and conscious women are capable of taking part in the election
process and village polity. It has been observed that microfinance programme has
empowered the women participants socio-economically as well as politically. They feel
themselves to be in the mainstream of the village affairs, hence, play a significant role in
the village polity. The impact is measured by comparing the level of political awareness
Participants Non-participants Participation in the Domestic Matters Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
More Participation 25 (28)
19 (26) - 44
(23) 11
(12) 10
(13) 02
(08) 23
(12)
Less Participation 59 (65)
52 (70)
23 (88)
134 (71)
63 (70)
53 (72)
19 (73)
135 (71)
No Participation 06 (07)
03 (04)
03 (12)
12 (06)
16 (18)
11 (15)
05 (19)
32 (17)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
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among the programme participants and non-participants as well as the interest taken by
them to participate in the village political affairs.
(i) Exercising the Right to Vote
The success of a democratic system largely depends upon the participation of
women in the political process of a country. It is expected that they should exercises their
right to vote. An attempt was made to know whether the respondents are aware about
exercising their right to vote. It is found that almost all the participants and non-
participants are aware of their voting right. It is found that ninety-nine per cent of both
the participants and non-participants cast their votes at the village, state and centre level
elections.
(ii) Awareness of Local, State Level and National Polity
In order to find the awareness of the respondents about the local, state and
national affairs, some questions like name of their village sarpanch, Chief Minister of
the state and Prime Minister of India were asked. An attempt was also made to know
whether they recognise all these personalities; or whether they understand the functions
of the Gram Panchayat. A perusal of Table 6.11 provides that both the participants and
non-participants are aware of local polity.
Table 6.11: Awareness of Local, State Level and National Polity
Participants Non-participants Indicator Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
Yes 87 (97)
67 (91)
24 (92)
178 (94)
83 (92)
71 (96)
24 (92)
178 (94)
Know the name of village sarpanch and recognise him
No 03 (03)
07 (09)
02 (08)
12 (06)
07 (08)
03 (04)
02 (08)
12 (06)
Yes 51 (57)
38 (51)
10 (38)
99 (52)
44 (49)
23 (31)
08 (31)
75 (39)
Know the names and recognise sarpanch and CM No 39
(43) 36
(49) 16
(62) 91
(48) 46
(51) 51
(69) 18
(69) 115 (61)
Yes 32 (36)
26 (35)
06 (23)
64 (34)
14 (16)
07 (09)
03 (12)
24 (13)
Know the name and recognise sarpanch, CM and PM No 58
(64) 48
(65) 20
(77) 126 (66)
76 (84)
67 (91)
23 (88)
166 (87)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-
square (χ2) = 0, 3.42 and 12.26. Table values at 5% and 1% with 1 d.f. = 3.84 and 6.63 respectively.
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It is found that almost all the participants and non-participants are aware about
the name of their village sarpanch and are able to recognise him. However, when
participants were asked about the name and recognition of the Chief Minister of Punjab
and Prime Minister of India, 52 per cent and 34 per cent of the participants responded
positively as compared to 39 and 13 per cent of non-participants respectively. Chi-square
test shows insignificant differences among the participants and non-participants
regarding their knowledge of local and state level polity but the difference regarding
their awareness of the national polity is very significant.
(iii) Participation in Panchayat Meetings
The participation of women in panchayat meetings indicates towards their self-
confidence, awareness and progressiveness. The respondents were asked whether they
attend and participate in such meetings or not. Fifty-eight per cent of the participants
responded positively as compared to 43 per cent of the non-participants (Table 6.12).
Chi-square test shows that these differences are significant at 5 per cent level of
significance.
Table 6.12: Participation in Panchayat Meetings
Participants Non-participants Indicator Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
Yes 52 (58)
47 (64)
12 (46)
111 (58)
40 (44)
31 (42)
10 (38)
81 (43) Participation
in Panchayat Meetings No 38
(42) 27
(36) 14
(54) 79
(42) 50
(56) 43
(58) 16
(62) 109 (57)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-
square (χ2) = 4.5. Table values at 5% and 1% with 1 d.f. = 3.84 and 6.63 respectively.
(iv) Leadership Qualities
As discussed in the definition, empowerment enables women to realise their full
identity and powers in all spheres of life. The realisation of identity and power develops
the leadership quality. The leadership qualities include ability to organise, motivating
others, convincing others with own ideas, ability to listen, expressing views etc. A
woman who develops these leadership qualities is considered more politically
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empowered. In order to assess their leadership quality the respondents were asked
whether they could perform the duties of head, cashier or secretary of the SHG. On the
other hand, the non-participants were asked whether they listen and solve the problems,
which arise in their neighbourhood.
It is found that 65 per cent of the participants and just 36 per cent of the non-
participants responded positively (Table 6.13). This shows that microfinance programme
develops the leadership qualities among the participants. Chi-square test shows a
significant difference among the participants and non-participants regarding the
possession of leadership qualities.
Table 6.13: Helping Neighbours in Resolving Conflicts
Participants Non-participants Indicator
Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
Yes 50 (56)
55 (74)
19 (73)
124 (65)
29 (32)
31 (42)
09 (35)
69 (36)
Management of group affairs/ Helping neighbours
No 40 (44)
19 (26)
07 (27)
66 (35)
61 (68)
43 (58)
17 (65)
121 (64)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-
square (χ2) = 16.82. Table values at 5% and 1% in 1 d.f. = 3.84 and 6.63 respectively.
6.7.4 Education, Skill and Training Empowerment
Besides the socio-economic and political empowerment of the programme
participants, microfinance programme also develops the overall personality of its
participants. The group activities lead to the development of basic skills like writing their
name, reading numbers, doing basic arithmetic, filling bank forms and understanding
pass-book entries etc. SHGs influence the level of comfort and confidence of its
members by developing these basic skills in them. All this generates knowledge, self-
confidence and self-esteem which are the indicators of their empowerment.
(i) Education and Ability to Read and Write
Education is one of the main indicators of empowerment. Education develops
different types of abilities in a person and broadens his outlook. An educated woman can
understand her rights and duties well. Only access to the resources does not lead to
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empowerment, rather empowerment is the ability to utilise the resources in an
autonomous way and only an educated woman can think about the proper utilisation of
resources. Table 6.14 shows that 26 per cent of the participants and 34 per cent of the
non-participants are illiterate. Nine per cent of the illiterate participants and 21 per cent
of the non-participants are not able to read numbers and write even their name. But 17
per cent of the illiterate participants and 13 per cent of the non-participants are able to
read numbers and write their name. Therefore, it can be seen that though illiterate, the
programme participants are more able to read and write as compared to the illiterate non-
participants. The level of education of participants and non-participants is also compared.
It is found that 23 per cent of the participants and 18 per cent of the non-participants are
educated up to primary level, 21 per cent of the participants and 20 per cent of the non-
participants are educated up to middle and 23 per cent of the participants and 21 per cent
of the non-participants are educated up to high school level. The Chi-square (χ2) test
shows insignificant difference between the participants and non-participants regarding
their education and ability to read and write.
Table 6.14: Education and Ability to Read and Write
Participants Non-participants Status of Education
Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.Illiterate, Cannot read and write
04 (04)
03 (04)
11 (42)
18 (09)
15 (17)
16 (22)
09 (35)
40 (21)
Illiterate, But can read and write
20 (22)
08 (11)
05 (19)
33 (17)
13 (14)
06 (08)
06 (23)
25 (13)
Education up to primary level
21 (23)
18 (24)
04 (15)
43 (23)
15 (17)
18 (24)
01 (04)
34 (18)
Education up to middle school level
13 (15)
23 (31)
03 (12)
39 (21)
19 (21)
15 (20)
04 (15)
38 (20)
Education up to high school level
27 (30)
16 (22)
01 (04)
44 (23)
19 (21)
16 (22)
05 (19)
40 (21)
Above high 05 (06)
06 (08)
02 (08)
13 (07)
09 (10)
03 (04)
01 (04)
13 (07)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-
square (χ2) = 6.06. Table values at 5% and 1% with 5 d.f. = 11.07 and 15.09 respectively.
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(ii) Ability to have Workable Knowledge of Calculations
A woman able to make the basic calculations is always confident as she cannot
be easily cheated by anyone in financial dealings. This ability also increases her
confidence to visit a market. In the present study, this indicator is measured by asking the
participants and non-participants whether they can do the basic calculations like addition,
subtraction, product and multiplication. A perusal of Table 6.15 shows that 72 per cent of
the participants face no difficulty in doing calculations as compared to 54 per cent of the
non-participants. Chi-square test shows significant differences among the participants
and non-participants regarding their ability to do basic calculations.
Table 6.15: Ability to Do Basic Calculations
Participants Non-participants Ability to Do Basic Calculations Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
No difficulty 63 (70)
62 (84)
12 (46)
137 (72)
40 (45)
51 (69)
12 (46)
103 (54)
Some difficulty 15 (17)
05 (07)
09 (35)
29 (15)
11 (12)
09 (12)
08 (31)
28 (15)
Lot of difficulty 12 (13)
07 (09)
05 (19)
24 (13)
39 (43)
14 (19)
06 (23)
59 (31)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants.
Chi-square (χ2) = 9.94. Table value at 5% and 1% with 2 d.f. = 5.99 and 9.21 respectively.
(iii) Maintaining Records of Financial Transactions
A person having knowledge to maintain record of financial transactions is
considered more empowered. Under microfinance programme written records of SHGs’
financial affairs such as the amount of total group savings, individual savings of all the
members, amount of bank loan received by the group, amount of loan received by the
individual members, instalments repaid etc. are maintained at the group level. The
programme participants understand the importance of record keeping and maintaining
proper records of their household financial transactions. Table 6.16 shows that 30 per
cent of the participants and 6 per cent of the non-participants maintain the records
regularly. However 26 per cent of the participants and 12 per cent of the non-participants
are irregular in record keeping. Chi-square test shows a significant difference among the
participants and non-participants regarding their ability to maintain financial records.
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Table 6.16: Maintaining Records of Financial Transactions
Participants Non-participants Maintaining Record Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
Regularly 30 (33)
23 (31)
05 (19)
58 (30)
06 (07)
04 (05)
01 (04)
11 (06)
Irregularly 24 (27)
17 (23)
08 (31)
49 (26)
12 (13)
06 (08)
05 (19)
23 (12)
Never 36 (40)
34 (46)
13 (50)
83 (44)
72 (80)
64 (87)
20 (77)
156 (82)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-square (χ2) =32.62. Table values at 5% and 1% with 2 d.f = 5.99 and 9.21 respectively.
(iv) Ability to Understand the Basic Banking Process
A person having knowledge and understanding of basic banking operations can
visit a bank independently and confidently. The knowledge of these banking operations
is useful for the poor to get benefits of various poverty alleviation schemes rendered by
the government through banks. Microfinance programme participants visit banks to
deposit the group savings, for getting loans and for repaying the loan instalments. It
enables them to perform the basic banking operations such as opening an account, filling
a bank form, understanding pass-book entries etc. Table 6.17 shows that 49 per cent of
the participants and 25 per cent of the non-participants face no difficulty in performing
basic banking operations. However, 28 per cent of the participants and 40 per cent of the
non-participants face difficulties or cannot perform these banking functions. Chi-square
test also shows significant differences among the participants and non-participants.
Table 6.17: Ability to Understand and Perform Basic Banking Operations
Participants Non-participants Performing Basic Banking Operations Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
No difficulty 40 (44)
44 (60)
10 (39)
94 (49)
20 (22)
21 (28)
06 (23)
47 (25)
Some difficulty 24 (27)
15 (20)
04 (15)
43 (23)
36 (40)
23 (31)
07 (27)
66 (35)
Lot of difficulty 26 (29)
15 (20)
12 (46)
53 (28)
34 (38)
30 (41)
13 (50)
77 (40)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-
square (χ2) = 12.38. Table value at 5% and 1% with 2 d.f. = 5.99 and 9.21 respectively.
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(v) Reading Newspaper or Viewing Television (TV) for General Awareness
We should always know about all the happenings taking place around us. Such
information is more important for the women as it lessens their dependence on others in
daily matters. The information collected through the newspapers or TV increases our
knowledge and general awareness. Table 6.18 shows that 27 per cent of the participants
read newspaper or view TV regularly as compared to 15 per cent of the non-participants.
The table also shows that 49 per cent of the participants never read newspaper or view
TV as compared to 54 per cent of the non-participants. Chi-square test shows
insignificant difference among participants and non-participants regarding their habit of
reading newspaper or viewing television.
Table 6.18: Reading Newspaper or Viewing TV for General Awareness
Participants Non-participants Reading Newspaper/ Viewing TV Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
Regularly 25 (28)
22 (30)
05 (19)
52 (27)
11 (12)
11 (15)
07 (27)
29 (15)
Occasionally 24 (27)
19 (26)
02 (08)
45 (24)
27 (30)
28 (38)
04 (15)
59 (31)
Never 41 (45)
33 (44)
19 (73)
93 (49)
52 (58)
35 (47)
15 (58)
102 (54)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-
square (χ2) = 4.56. Table values at 5% and 1% with 2 d.f = 5.99 and 9.21 respectively.
(vi) Training for Job
Training leads to acquisition of knowledge and development of new skills. A
person who gets training for a particular occupation can do that occupation more
efficiently. Therefore, a trained woman is considered more empowered than an untrained
one. An attempt was made to know from the respondents if they were provided any type
of skill development training or not. The study shows that only 29 per cent of the
participants are provided training under the microfinance programme, whereas the rest
71 per cent of the participants and all of the non-participants are not provided any type of
training.
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6.8 Composite Empowerment Index
All the twenty-one indicators of women empowerment discussed above are both
quantitative as well as qualitative in nature. These indicators represent the factors like
economic, socio-cultural, political and education, skill and training empowerment of
women. In order to quantify the level of women empowerment a Composite
Empowerment Index (CEI) is prepared. The indicators influencing women
empowerment are assigned arbitrary scores as shown in Appendix-II and then the scores
of these indicators are added together. The respondents whose total score ranges between
0-20 are classified as less empowered. The respondents who score between 21-30, 31-40
and 41-50 are classified as medium, high and very high empowered respectively. Punjab
is a prosperous state; and women residents of this state are relatively more empowered as
compared to their counterparts living in other states. So, index score of 20 is assumed to
be the minimum expected score from the respondents surveyed. The results of the CEI
are exhibited in Table 6.19.
Table 6.19: Composite Empowerment Index of Participants and Non-participants
Participants Non-participants Level of Empowerment
CEI Score Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
Very high empowered (41–50) 05
(06) 05
(07) 01
(04) 11
(06) - 01 (01) - 01
(01)
High empowered (31–40) 30
(33) 32
(43) 07
(27) 69
(36) 05
(06) 05
(07) 02
(07) 12
(06)
Medium empowered (21–30) 40
(44) 29
(39) 10
(38) 79
(42) 41
(45) 29
(39) 09
(35) 79
(41)
Less empowered (0–20) 15
(17) 08
(11) 08
(31) 31
(16) 44
(49) 39
(53) 15
(58) 98
(52)
Total 90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
90 (100)
74 (100)
26 (100)
190 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants and non-participants. Chi-
square (χ2) = 44.07. Table values at 5% and 1% with 3 d.f. = 7.81 and 11.3 respectively.
A perusal of the table provides that only six per cent of the participants and one
percent of the non-participants are found to be very high empowered. Thirty-six per cent
of the participants are high empowered, whereas this percentage in the case of non-
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participants is just 6 per cent. Forty-two per cent of the participants and 41 per cent of
the non-participants fall in the medium empowered category. However, 16 per cent of
the participants and 52 per cent of the non-participants fall in the less empowered
category. The Chi-square (χ2) test also shows very significant differences between the
level of empowerment of the participants and non-participants.
Section-III
6.9 Determinants of Women Empowerment
The experiences of the field survey and the review of literature give an idea that
maturity of the SHGs, amount of group loans used for income generating activities, age
of the participants, their income, level of employment, household income and their
confidence in moving out of their houses may be the significant determinants of
empowerment of the programme participants. The present study also finds out the impact
of these variables on the level of women empowerment. The following tables explain
how the change in these variables affects the level of women empowerment.
6.9.1 Impact of Group Maturity on Women Empowerment
Empowerment is a slow and continuous process; and mere joining an SHG does
not lead to it. It takes some time to get the full benefits of the programme. So, the women
who are availing the benefits of microfinance programme for a longer period are more
empowered as compared to the new entrants of the programme. In this study, the impact
of group maturity on the level of women empowerment has been determined by using
the composite empowerment index. Table 6.20 shows the level of women empowerment
on the basis of group maturity. The SHGs have been put into three different categories
showing their maturity in years. Those SHGs falling under the less than 3 years category
have been called young groups. Similarly, those in the 3-6 years and above 6 years
categories have been called middle age and mature groups respectively.
The table depicts that 16 per cent of the participants from mature groups fall in
very high empowered category, and 69 per cent in high-empowered category. On the
other hand, there are only 2 and 17 per cent participants from the young groups, who fall
in the categories of very high empowered and high empowered respectively. Similarly, 4
per cent participants from the middle age groups fall in very high empowered category,
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and 35 per cent in high empowered category. However, 49, 51 and 13 per cent
participants from young, middle age and mature groups fall in the medium empowered
category respectively. Further, 32 per cent participants from young groups, 10 per cent
from middle age groups and only 2 per cent from mature groups fall in less empowered
category. This shows that after availing the benefits of microfinance programme for
some years almost all of its participants have achieved some level of empowerment. The
Chi-square (χ2) test also shows that maturity of a group is quite significantly influencing
the level of women empowerment.
Table 6.20: Level of Empowerment According to Group Maturity
Number of Participants in Different Group Ages
Young Groups Middle-age Groups Mature Groups Level of
Empower-ment Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun. Jal. Hsp. Bti. Pun.
Very high empowered
01 (03) - - 01
(02)02
(05)01
(04) - 03 (04)
02 (13)
04 (15)
01 (25)
07 (16)
High empowered
08 (22)
03 (14)
01 (07)
12 (17)
12 (31)
10 (37)
04 (50)
26 (35)
10 (67)
19 (73)
02 (50)
31 (69)
Medium empowered
15 (42)
13 (62)
07 (50)
35 (49)
22 (56)
13 (48)
03 (38)
38 (51)
03 (20)
03 (12) - 06
(13)
Less empowered
12 (33)
05 (24)
06 (43)
23 (32)
03 (08)
03 (11)
01 (12)
07 (10) - - 01
(25)01
(02)
Total 36 (100)
21 (100)
14 (100)
71 (100)
39 (100)
27 (100)
08 (100)
74 (100)
15 (100)
26 (100)
04 (100)
45 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants in different group ages. Chi-
square (χ2) = 107.42. Table values at 5% and 1% with 6 d.f. = 12.59 and 16.81 respectively.
6.9.2 Level of Employment and Women Empowerment
Table 6.21 reveals the impact of employment on the level of women
empowerment. The table reflects that an increase in the number of employment days
results in increasing the level of empowerment in the participant women. The table
shows that 53 per cent and 47 per cent of unemployed participants are less and medium
empowered respectively. Fifty per cent each of the participants who are employed for up
to 50 days per annum are in the less empowered and medium empowered categories.
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None of the participants employed for less than 50 days lies in high empowered
category. But an increase in the employment days shifts the programme participants from
the less and medium empowered categories to high and very high empowered categories.
The table further brings out that 10, 16, 36 and 61 per cent of the participants employed
for 50-100, 100-140, 140-180 and above 180 days per annum are high empowered. A
perusal of the table shows that only 15 per cent participants employed for more than 180
days fall in the very high empowered category. In this way, the employment level of the
participants is significantly influencing their level of empowerment.
Table 6.21: Level of Employment and Women Empowerment
Number of Participants Employed (in days per annum) Level of Empowerment Un-
employed Up to 50
days 50-100 days
100-140 days
140-180 days
Above 180 days
Very high empowered - - - - - 11
(15)
High empowered - - 01 (10)
03 (16)
18 (36)
43 (61)
Medium empowered
18 (47)
01 (50)
05 (50)
14 (74)
27 (54)
14 (20)
Less empowered 20 (53)
01 (50)
04 (40)
02 (10)
05 (10)
03 (04)
Total 38 (100)
02 (100)
10 (100)
19 (100)
50 (100)
71 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants employed in their respective
categories. 6.9.3 Level of Education and Women Empowerment
Table 6.22 reflects the impact of education of the programme participants on
their empowerment. A perusal of table reveals that an increase in the level of education
results in increasing the level of empowerment, and the participants move from the less
empowered category to medium, high and very high empowered categories. The table
provides that 76 per cent of the illiterate participants are less empowered, whereas none
of the participants educated above high school level belongs to this less empowered
category. None of the participants with less than primary education belong to very high
empowered category, whereas 3, 16, and 25 per cent of the participants educated up to
middle, high and above high school level belong to very high empowered category
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respectively. In this way, education plays a positive role in the empowerment of
participants.
Table 6.22: Level of Education and Women Empowerment
Number of Participants Educated up to Different Levels Level of Empowerment Illiterate Literate Up to
Primary Up to
Middle Up to High
Above High
Very high empowered - - - 01
(03) 07
(16) 03
(25) High empowered - - 22
(31) 15
(39) 26
(59) 06
(50) Medium empowered
04 (24)
04 (50)
40 (56)
19 (50)
09 (20)
03 (25)
Less empowered
13 (76)
04 (50)
09 (13)
03 (08)
02 (05) -
Total 17 (100)
08 (100)
71 (100)
38 (100)
44 (100)
12 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants educated up to various levels.
6.9.4 Level of Mobility and Women Empowerment
Table 6.23 highlights the level of mobility of the participants and their
empowerment.
Table 6.23: Level of Mobility and Women Empowerment
Number of Participants Having Different Levels of Mobility Level of Empowerment Can’t Go
Outside Can Visit
Another Village Can Visit
Nearest Town Can Visit a
City Very high empowered
- - - 11
(13) High empowered
- 03 (10)
19 (31)
47 (53)
Medium empowered
03 (38)
15 (45)
32 (53)
29 (33)
Less empowered
05 (62)
15 (45)
10 (16)
01 (01)
Total 08 (100)
33 (100)
61 (100)
88 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants having different levels of
mobility.
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The table depicts that 62 and 38 per cent of the participants who cannot go out of
their houses independently fall in the less and medium empowered categories
respectively. However, 10, 31 and 53 per cent of the participants having confidence to
visit another village, nearest town and a city fall in the high empowered category. Only
13 per cent of the participants who are quite confident to visit a city on their own fall in
the very high empowered category. It establishes that women empowerment is directly
influenced by their confidence of movement.
6.9.5 Loans Used for Productive Purposes and Women Empowerment
Table 6.24 explains the level of empowerment of the participants who utilise
different sums of group loans for income generating activities. A perusal of the table
provides that as the participants utilise large amount of loans for productive purposes,
they become more empowered. The table shows that 30 per cent of the participants who
do not utilise loans for productive purposes are less empowered. However, none of the
participants who utilise more than Rs. 30,000 for productive purposes is in the less
empowered category. Eighty per cent of the participants who use more than Rs. 30,000
for productive purposes belong to high and very high categories of empowerment. In this
way, the loans used for productive purposes also influence the women empowerment.
Table 6.24: Loans Used for Productive Purposes and Women Empowerment
No. of Participants Using Different Amounts of Loan for Productive Purposes Level of
Empowerment Nil Up to Rs. 10,000
Rs. 10,000-20,000
Rs. 20,000-30,000
Above Rs. 30,000
Very high empowered
02 (02)
02 (04)
01 (03)
04 (23)
02 (20)
High empowered
18 (22)
19 (40)
17 (55)
09 (53)
06 (60)
Medium empowered
39 (46)
23 (48)
12 (39)
03 (18)
02 (20)
Less empowered
25 (30)
04 (08)
01 (03)
01 (06) -
Total 84 (100)
48 (100)
31 (100)
17 (100)
10 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants using different amounts of
loan for productive purposes.
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6.9.6 Household Income and Women Empowerment
Table 6.25 measures the impact of household income of the participants on their
empowerment. The table shows that the participants with higher levels of family income
are more empowered as compared to the participants whose household income is
comparatively less. The table provides that 31, 15 and 20 per cent of the participants with
the respective household income up to Rs. 3,000; 3,000-5,000; and 5,000-10,000 per
month are less empowered, and none of the participants having the household income
above Rs. 10,000 per month belongs to this category. None of the participants in the
household income group of up to Rs. 3,000 is found to be in the very high empowered
category. A perusal of the table provides that as the household income increases the level
of empowerment also increases. In this way, household income is significantly
influencing the level of women empowerment.
Table 6.25: Household Income and Women Empowerment
(Income in Rs. per month) Number of Participants in Various Household Income
Categories Level of Empowerment Up to Rs.
3,000 Rs. 3,000-
5,000 Rs. 5,000-
10,000 Rs. 10,000-
15,000 Above Rs.
15,000 Very high empowered - 01
(01) 02
(03) 03
(16) 05
(42) High empowered
02 (08)
25 (35)
30 (49)
06 (31)
06 (50)
Medium empowered
16 (61)
35 (49)
17 (28)
10 (53)
01 (08)
Less empowered
08 (31)
11 (15)
12 (20) - -
Total 26 (100)
72 (100)
61 (100)
19 (100)
12 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants having different levels of
household income.
6.9.7 Age of the Participant and Women Empowerment
Table 6.26 shows the impact of age of the programme participants on the level of
women empowerment. A glance at the table provides that 88 per cent and 87 per cent of
the participants in the age groups of 18-25 and 25-40 years are in the medium and high
empowered categories respectively. There exists no difference in the empowerment level
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of these two age groups. In the age group of 40-60 years, 20 per cent participants are less
empowered, 74 per cent are either medium or high empowered, and 6 per cent are very
high empowered. Most of the participants who are above 60 years of age are either very
high empowered or less empowered. Fifty-nine per cent of these participants are very
high empowered, whereas 25 per cent of them are less empowered. Therefore, there
exists no particular relation between age and empowerment. In this way, it can be said
that the age of participants is not a significant determinant of women empowerment.
Table 6.26: Age of the Participants and Women Empowerment
Number of Participants in Different Age Groups Level of Empowerment 18-25
Years 25-40 Years
40-60 Years
Above 60 Years
Very high empowered
- - 04 (06)
07 (59)
High empowered 03 (38)
39 (38)
26 (39)
01 (08)
Medium empowered
04 (50)
51 (49)
23 (35)
01 (08)
Less empowered 01 (12)
14 (13)
13 (20)
03 (25)
Total 08 (100)
104 (100)
66 (100)
12 (100)
Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate percentages of participants in different age groups.
6.10 Regression Analysis
A multiple linear regression is used to statistically measure the impact of all these
determinants on the level of Composite Empowerment Index (CEI). The following
regression equation is used to measure the effect of key indicators on CEI.
CEI = b0 + b1 AGE + b2 EDU + b3 GAGE + b4 PROLOAN +b5 EMPL + b6 HHINC + b7 MOBTY
Where:
CEI = Composite empowerment index
AGE = Age of the participant in years
EDU = Education level of the participant
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GAGE = Group age to know the maturity of the group
PROLOAN = Amount of loan used for productive purposes in rupees
EMPL = Employment in person days in Post SHG
HHINC = Household income of the participant in rupees
MOBTY = Level of mobility of the participant.
Table 6.27 highlights the coefficients of these variables. The regression results in
the table show that all the coefficients have positive values except variables of age and
loan used for productive purposes in Bathinda. The coefficients of regression variables,
e.g. education, group age, household income, employment, amount of loans used for
productive purposes and spatial mobility of the participants are playing an important and
significant role in women empowerment.
Table 6.27: Regression Analysis
Standardised Coefficients Variables
Jalandhar Hoshiarpur Bathinda Punjab
Constant (1.555) (0.154) (2.671) (2.438)
AGE 0.072 (1.537)
0.175 (3.002)*
-0.172 (1.941)
0.053 (1.620)
EDU 0.446 (9.007)*
0.390 (6.370)*
0.218 (2.070)**
0.379 (10.781)*
GAGE 0.069 (1.385)
0.175 (2.919)*
0.136 (0.191)
0.117 (3.473)*
PROLOAN 0.055 (1.175)
0.085 (1.564)
-0.011 (0.097)
0.069 (2.142)**
EMPL 0.439 (8.199)*
0.438 (6.999)*
0.418 (3.690)*
0.420 (11.878)*
HHINC 0.117 (2.550)**
0.031 (0.546)
0.157 (1.324)
0.083 (2.610)*
MOBTY 0.379 (8.716)*
0.299 (5.358)*
0.383 (3.521)*
0.383 (12.021)*
R2 0.862 0.841 0.876 0.847 * Significant at 1 per cent level. ** Significant at 5 per cent level. Source: Field survey 2008. Note: The figures given in parentheses indicate t-values.
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6.11 Concluding Observations
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that microfinance programme is
helpful in empowering women economically, socio-culturally and politically. The
education, skill and training provided by microfinance programme lead to the
development of the overall personality of the programme participants. The beneficiaries
of the programme have higher levels of employment, income and participation in
household financial decision-making as compared to non-participants. It is also found
that the beneficiaries are more confident while travelling, visiting market for the
purchase of household goods, and dealing with other members of the society.
Participants of the microfinance programme are able to raise their voice against various
social exploitations more confidently. They are more participative in the social
development activities; and have greater political awareness as compared to non-
participants. Apart from it, group activities develop reading and writing skills, ability to
do basic calculations and understanding basic banking operations. The regression
analysis shows that the variables like education of the participants, maturity of the group,
employment status of the participants, household income and mobility are significant
which influence the empowerment of programme participants. In this way, microfinance
programme has contributed a lot in the empowerment of women.
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