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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

196

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

199

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.

200

(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

201

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

202

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.

203

(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)

204

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.

205

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

206

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

207

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.

208

(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.

209

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.

210

(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.

211

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-

212

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,

213

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.

214

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

215

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.

216

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.

217

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

218

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

219

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.

220

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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