review of lit women entreprenture 2 corrected

8/13/2019 Review of Lit Women Entreprenture 2 Corrected

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CHAPTER - II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

In India, where 300 million people or about 60 milloin households are living below the poverty

line, the micro finance imperative for the upliftment of rural poor. The micro finance scene is

dominated by self help groups-bank linkage programme formally launched in 1992 by

NABARD. The self help groups bank linkage programme has registered tremendous growth in

rural India. The present paper unfurls the growth of SHG‟s program in regional perspectives. The

paper also pinpoints the various constants and challenges faced by SHG‟s in fulfilling its goals of

poverty alleviation and empowerment of rural poor. In last the paper suggests some fruitful

measures to overcome the constraints and challenges.

Over the past several decades several things have happened to blur the sex differences in leader

emergence. The mass entrance of women into the workforce, increasing number of female

managers, societal shift in gender role perception made the researchers to through light on

leadership gender gap issues. Until 1970‟s the researchers ignored issues related to gender and

leadership. Popular press reported differences between women and men in the year that women

are inferior to men and women lacked skills and traits necessary for managerial success (1977).

The only gender difference that exists between men and women is women tend to use a more

participative style or democratic style than men.


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Women under representation in high level leadership positions revolve around three types of

explanations first human capital: Education, work experience, developmental opportunities, and

work home conflict. Second gender differences: Style and effectiveness, commitment and

motivation, self promotion, negotiation and evolution. Third prejudice: Gender stereotypes,

biased perceptions and evolutions, vulnerability and reactance, cross pressures. The forth factor

which is invisible barrier preventing women from ascending into elite leadership positions –

commonly called the glass ceiling.

There are a variety of understandings of the term „empowerment‟ due to its widespread

usage. Yet this widely used term is rarely defined. The claims for women‟s empowerment to be

the goal or ultimate objective of many development policies and programs leads to a demand for

indicators of empowerment, both to reveal the extent to which women are already empowered,

and also to evaluate if such policies and programs have been effective towards their stated aims.

To understand clearly the concept of empowerment, it is important to delineate certain

overlapping concepts.

(a) Social Inclusion Key to Empowerment:

Empowerment is described as “the enhancement of assets and capabilities of diverse

individuals and groups to engage, influence and hold accountable the institutions which affect

them.” Social inclusion is defined as “the removal of institutional barriers and the enhancement

of incentives to increase the access of diverse individuals and groups to assets and development

opportunities” Thus, empowerment process, operates “from below” and involves agency, as

exercised by individuals and groups. Social inclusion, in contrast, requires systemic change that

may be initiated “from above.”


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(b) Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment:

There could be statistical data indicating improvements in indicators of gender equality,

but unless the intervening process involved women as agents of that change, one cannot term it

as empowerment. Whereas the role of agency in the discourse on empowerment assumes prime

importance , gender equality or equity indicates the degree of equivalence in life outcomes forwomen and men, recognizing their different needs and interests and requiring a redistribution of

power and resources.

(c) Powerful and Empowerment:

One way of thinking about power is in terms of the ability to make choices: to be disempowered,

therefore, implies to be denied the choice. Thus, the notion of empowerment is that it is

inescapably bound up with the condition of disempowerment and refers to the processes by

which those who have been denied the ability to make choices acquire such ability. (The word

„acquire‟ is very important here). In other words, empowerment entails a process of change.

People who exercise a great deal of choice in their lives may be very powerful , but they are not

empowered in the sense in which empowerment has been described here, because they were

never disempowered in the first place.

There are various attempts in the literature to develop a comprehensive understanding of

empowerment through breaking the process down into key components. Kabeer‟s (2001)

understanding of “choice” comprises three inter-related components:

Resources: or “enabling factors” or “catalysts” for conditions under which empowerment is

likely to occur i.e., they form the conditions under which choices are made;

Agency: which is at the heart of the process through which choices are made, and;


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Achievements, which are conceived as the outcomes of choices.

According to Naila Kabeer, empowerment is “the expansion in people’s ability to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability was previously denied to them.” Accordingto Kabeer, empowerment cannot be reduced to a single aspect of process or outcome. How

women exercise choice and the actual outcomes will depend on the individual. Choices will vary

across class, time and space. Moreover, impacts on empowerment perceived by outsiders might

not necessarily be those most valued by women themselves.

Thus, there could be statistical data indicating improvements in indicators of gender

equality, but unless the intervening process involved women as agents of that change, one cannot

term it as empowerment. Understanding empowerment in this way means that development

agencies cannot claim to empower women rather they can provide appropriate external supportand intervention, which can however be important to foster and support the process of

empowerment i.e., act as facilitators.

Consensus on Macro and Micro Indicators of Empowerment

There are a variety of ways in which indicators of empowerment can be developed. Each

have some value, but none can be taken as complete or absolute measure, because the nature of

empowerment as a multi-faceted concept means that it is not readily quantifiable. To understand

empowerment it is helpful to divide indicators of empowerment into two categories: those whichattempt to measure women‟s empowerment at a broad societal level, in order to gain information

and make comparisons between countries (GEM, GDI), and those which are developed in order

to measure the effects of specific projects or programs or catalytic factors (education,

employment etc.) requiring a micro approach involving women themselves as agents of change.


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Measuring Gender Empowerment Index

Dimension Political

participation and

decision making

Economic participation and decision-making Power over

economic

resources

Indicator Female & Male

shares in

parliamentary seats

Female & Male shares

of positions as

legislators, senior

officials and managers

Female & male

shares of

professional and

technical positions

Female and m

estimated earn

income

Equality

Distributed

Equivalence

% (EDEP)

EDEP for

parliamentary

representation

EDEP for

economic

participation

EDEP for

income

Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)

There have been several efforts to devise micro indicators of empowerment. In this effort,

Naila Kabeer, Linda Mayoux, Anne Marie Goetz, Rahman, Ackerley, JSI (John Show

International researchers), Sara Longwe and Hashmi have provided their own indicators.


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JSI Six Domains of Empowerment

Domain Expressions

1. Sense of Self & visionof 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 harassmentin public spaces, interaction with men.

3. Economic Security Property ownership, new skills and knowledge and increasedincome, 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, has/controls/spends money, participation in/makes

decisions on allocation of resources, not dominated by others

5. Ability to interacteffectively 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.


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JSI defines empowerment in a behavioral sense as the ability to take effective action

encompassing inner state (sense of self, of one‟s autonomy, self -confidence, openness to new

ideas, belief in one‟s own potential to act effectively) and a person‟s status and efficacy in social

interactions. In particular, it is the ability to make and carry out significant decisions affecting

one‟s own life and the lives of others.

An increasing body of research indicates that commonly used proxy variables such as

education or employment are conceptually distant from the dimensions of gender ratification that

are hypothesized to affect the outcomes of interest in these studies, and may in some cases be

irrelevant or misleading. In response, there have been increasing efforts at capturing the process

through direct measures of decision-making, control, choice, etc. Such measures are seen as the

most effective representations of the process of empowerment by many authors since they are

closest to measuring agency It could be argued that the indicators with “ face validity” (i.e.

indicators of empowerment based on survey questions referring to very specific, concrete

actions) represent power relationships and are meaningful within a particular social context.

Certain empirical examples cited from the review of literature point out to the fact that

mere swells in government programmes for empowerment of women do not guarantee women‟s

empowered status. For example Goetz and Sen Gupta‟s study of credit programs in Bangladesh

challenges the assumption that loans made to women are always used by women. They found

that in two-thirds of the loans in their study, men either significantly or partially controlled the

credit women brought into the household. Women were unable to make their own decisions on

how to invest or use the loan. This is an important finding as it su pports Mayoux‟s point that

empowerment cannot be assumed to be an automatic outcome of microfinance programs. Thus, a

micro approach is required to assess the real situation.


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In our larger study we developed a comprehensive model of empowerment based on

certain concrete micro inidicators of empowerment. (as shown in fig. 1)

Fig:1

Fig. 1

W

O R K P A R T I C I P A T I O N

O F R U R A L W O M E N

CONSUMPTION PATTERN

ACCESS TO & CONTROL OVER RESOURCES

DECISION MAKING

SELF ESTEEM/ SELF RESPECT

AWARENESS

1. Number of meals a day2. Skipping meals so that the rest of the family can have enough3. Frequency of meals skipped over a month

1. What do you do with your earned/saved income?2. Whom do you ask money for you petty needs?3. Do you set aside some money that you can use as you wish?4. Have you made any contribution out of your income?5. When money is tight who takes the responsibility for stretching it?

1. Trivial issues2. Issues Related to Children3. Issues related to Own Self4. Critical Issues

1. Husband justified for wife beating if he suspects her for being unfaithful2. If her natal family does not pay the promised dowry3. If she shows disrespect towards her in-laws4. If she goes out without telling him5. If she neglects the house or children6. If she does not cook food properly

1. Ideal age of marriage of daughters2. Why (if) early marriage perceived for daughters?3. Education level for girls4. Why (if) low education for girls preferred?5. Awareness/ and use of on family planning methods6. Awareness on Child spacing

EMPOWERM

ENTOFWOMEN

MODEL OF EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN


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Bhowmik Krishna (2006) analyses the need for women to enter into employment, variousopportunities for employment and attitude of their life partners towards the women‟s

employment. He reveals the problems faced by women in their dual performance at home

and outside home and analyses the marginalization of women by exploiting them. He also

reviews the need for women empowerment and the related issues like ongoing

approaches and strategies of the government and non-government organizations.

Medha Dubashi Vinze (1987) points out that social pressures and attitude of doubtingwomen‟s capability and restricting their freedom of movement was found a hurdle.

Mustiary Begum (2006) writes there are hosts of inhibiting factors: Social, economic, political and cultural which prevents women from being active participants in the

development process.

Ishitha Mukherjee and Suvarna Sen (2006) provides a contemporary overview of genderand development concerns in India and throws light on the various aspects of gender

related issues by examining the trends in women‟s employment, wages, literacy and

school enrollment. In India, although the process of women‟s empowerment has been

successful to some extent, gender-related socio-economic biases still exist. These can be

addressed by properly identifying the areas of concern and implementing suitable

policies.


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Jeanne Halladay Coughlin and Thomas R Andrew (2002) talks about the self-employedwomen in developing countries and women-owned business enterprises in developing

countries. The authors discuss the economic, social and personal motivations for female

entrepreneurs, the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs, the tools and processes

helping female entrepreneurs and gives entry-strategy analysis, monitoring and

evaluation of programmes in support of women entrepreneurs. And also provides female

entrepreneur resource guide.

Meenakshi Malhotra (2004), in her work entitled, “Empowerment of Women”, deals withthe issues leading to empowerment of women with particular reference to rural women.

In three volumes she dealt with issues like gender inequalities in labour market, micro

finance options for women empowerment and the in third volume she described the

various programmes introduced to empower women and bring them into the orbit of

development network.

J.Bhagya Lakshmi(2004), in the article, “Women‟s Empowerment – Miles to Go” pointsout that India as a signatory to the UN conventional has taken several measures to ensure

full development and advancement of women, yet, one feels, there are miles to go and

promises to keep. All forms of violence against women, physical and mental, whether at

domestic or societal level shall dealt with effectively.


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Dr. Rakesh Chandra in his article titled “Women Empowerment In India – Milestonesand Challenges” discussed about the various initiatives of state and central government.

His paper argued on the low consideration on women and budget allotment to women

specific programmes.

Sushma Singhal (1995) in her book titled “Development of Education, Occupation andEmployment of women in India”, critically analyzed on the education level of women,

occupation and employment partners of Indian women and the governmental

programmes for women in achieving financial stability. The author concluded that

women have, a dual proactive economic role as unpaid workers at home and on the

family farm and as paid laborers outside home. The author emphasized that the women‟s

role in economic development is vital, positive and essential.

Gabriele Griffin (2005) in his book titled “Doing women‟s studies – employmentopportunities, personal impacts and social consequences”, focused on the employment

opportunities for women and the main features of women employment. His study also

focused on the consequences of uneven development of the institutionalization of

women‟s studies.

Anil Rajpal and Pragya Singh (2007) in their article titled “Workforce of India: A silent

revolution in the making”, focused on the importance and advancement of women

workforce in India. The paper highlighted on the implications and imperatives of women

workers working in India in many sectors. The paper concluded that the women are


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taking leaps in all spheres – education, career or social empowerment. Rising women

workforce is bound to change the ways of companies to design and make market

products.

According to Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), women represent more than one – third

of all people involved in entrepreneurial activity. Women are more likely to play a greater role

when informal sectors are considered. Morris (2001) asserted that higher levels of

entrepreneurship in developing countries will improve the economic performance and raise

incomes. Micro businesses empower the poor by developing skills, self-esteem and self-

sufficiency(Mukherjee, 2007). The role entrepreneur is explained from the neoclassical paradigm

and the need for a separate theoretical base for entrepreneurship is questioned (Demstez, 1983

and Kirzner, 1983).

The empirical theory presented by Viceana looks at the entrepreneur as the one who isassociated with starting of a new business with innovation and success as additional roles.

According McClelland (1961) motivation to achieve is conditional factor for

development. The characteristics of an entrepreneur are:

(i) Originality and innovation,

(ii) Moderate risk taking ability,

(iii) Having individual responsibility,

(iv) Depending on feedback and


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(v) Plan on a long term basis.

Shriver (2009), based on the fact that half the US workforce is now female, used the phrase “female nation” to highlight the fact that this body of employed women is going to

bring about changes to men, women, families, organizations and society as a whole.

More working women now have children. An increasing number of women are earning

more salary than their husbands or partners do. These facts are changing the nature of

families and the roles that men and women play.

P. Babu (1978) his study was an attempt to find out the sociological factors thatcontribute to the development of small entrepreneurs .The study showed that community

and family background contributed to the success of prospective entrepreneurs, formal

education has not been a positive factor in entrepreneurship development, providing

infrastructure facilities alone will not promote entrepreneurship development and the

Association of Small Scale Industries has Lo play an important role in identification and

development of entrepreneurs, a strong policy to support the entrepreneurs is called upon

,as the economy demands the growth of women entrepreneurs., the education and other

factors like the background for entrepreneurship is no a criteria for entrepreneurial

growth , risking bearing attitude and innovation prove to be more encouraging towards

growth.

Margaret and Anne Jardim (1979) conducted the study of women at managerial position by analyzing the life and career history of twenty-five women at the top management

position in business and industry. The study reveals that women can build extremely


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successful management careers even with out legal pressures to aid them. The study

further reveals the price they paid -their personal lives were mortgaged to pay for their

careers.

Aruna Shree P Rao (1981) made a study on the level of organizational involvement ofwomen in development projects. The study recommends that project personnel should

train participants in the skills necessary for planning and implementing project activities

and Project should concentrate on activities designed to raise the income of the

participants. The needs for competencies for project development are to be horned and

the policies of the government help to do the same through various agencies like Mitcon

for development of entrepreneurial project ventures.

Mayers (1981) conducted a research study to analyze the effect of economic pressure onemployment of married women. The study reveals those married women with

comparatively low economic background and having more financial burdens arc coming

for wage employment and undertaking other economic activities. Women who cannot be

employed ,due to other responsibilities can be encouraged to use their skills by availing

the policies of the government .The policies are run through a net work of schemes that

help them to financially support themselves as well as add up to the economy.

Lehrer Sara (198I) studied the effects of a women's conference on participants attitudetowards women's role in society .It was observed that the conference did not make much

effect on changing the attitude of participants towards women's role in the development


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of society. The perception about women in the past has cajoled them to think in the

direction of other people .Women has realized their own potentials as entrepreneurs but

they need the encouragement from the state. The environment for women entrepreneurs

to bloom can be created by the government through policies designed for women

entrepreneurs.

Alman Aisha Mohammed (1981) the study was undertaken to explore the level ofeconomic development attained by Saudi Arabia from its oil resources and its impact on

the socio-economic status of women. The study showed that the economic contributions

of women in the agricultural sector, in animal husbandry and in home were undervalued

and their participation rate was very low. The culture in and around women is one of the

factors that underrates their hand in prosperity. In countries of the Middle East the

situation of women has still not changed though there is change in the world sees the

women. The governance should realize that the development of its wards will lead to the

development of the state; Women need to come out of their shells and face the challenges

of business and economy.

Bhanu Shali (1987) conducted a study on entrepreneurship development in Kholapurdistrict in Maharashtra. The study lead to the conclusion that persons of minority or

marginal groups trained in the art of engineering and having long contact with

engineering industry have better capabilities to achieve success status. The study further

stresses the need for co-ordination and synchronization of various administrative and

attitudinal efforts to attain maximum result with minimum waste of time and resources.


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Bureaucracy is the worm that is eating up the new saps of entrepreneurship. The attitude

of the official towards the policies should change, and this change can be brought by

developmental thought process of the government.

Wim Vizverberg (1988) From a case study undertaken in the rural areas of Cote d' Ivoireamong self employed small scale enterprises observed that self employment is an

important mode of activity and a significant portion of the labour force in rural areas

makes a living through self employment. The study reveals that the motive behind the

starting of a majority of such enterprises is not entrepreneurial but because the market

wage offer is low or the chance of receiving, a wage job is remote.

Nafziger (1988) the study investigated the motivating factors in the context ofentrepreneurship development and the impact of education on entrepreneurship

development in a society. The study reveals that for younger individuals formal education

and working experience are lo some extend alternatives for acquiring entrepreneurial

skills. Insufficient capital to start up a business is the most important economic barriers to

small enterprise development. The switches from wage employment to self-employment

are more likely if the individual has more assets at his disposal.

Annie Phizakka (l988) Entrepreneurship can be seen as a form of disguised

unemployment. It was pointed out that self-employment is not necessarily synonymous

with entrepreneurship. In many self employment units the 'boss' manages and controls the


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affairs with no paid employees, very often, family members constitute the work force,

with out having the status of an employer.

Usha Jumani (1991) conducted a study to analyze the status of self-employed women inrural areas. Economic activities through which the Income of the women will be

increased have to be identified with great care. They have to be in consonance with time

availability with family roles and with their awareness levels. Traditional occupations can

be exchanged for the new technological based employment for women entrepreneurs,

Use of Information technology and also scientific processes; can enhance economic

activities in the rural area. The women need to be trained by the government for the same.

Polices that encourage the training through government agencies can cover both male as

well as the female business contenders.

V. Harikumar (1994) conducted a study on "Sickness in Small Scale industries inKerala". It was observed that the rate of industrial sickness is high in Kerala and it is

more significant in the small-sector. Entrepreneurs who lack entrepreneurial culture and

heritage organized most of the small-scale enterprises. The agencies run by the

government have to take initiative in re-organizing the sick units by being a partner to the

women entrepreneurs as they have no one else to look up to for assistance. A sick unit is

not only a loss to the individual but also to the economic condition of the state.

Arun A.V. (1995) conducted a study on the 'productivity of small scale industries in ruralareas of Kerala'. He found that small scale industries in Kerala are running on obsolete


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technology and have a very low productivity; they are very often facing acute

competition from well-organized large-scale sector. No planned efforts are there to

update the technology. The efforts by the agencies are not adequate for the technology to

reach at grass root level .The penetration of the schemes and its use seems to lack the

quality to change the situation

Masao Kikuchi (l998) made some case studies to analyze and examine how the newexport market and subcontracting system resulted in the emergence of a “new generation

of rural entrepreneurs” in Philippines. The study found that sub contracting in the export

garment sector is not limited to sewing, but also for other related services. Because: of

the technology used in the garment industry is labour intensive, the spread of garment sub

contracting in rural areas has created employment opportunities with low opportunity

costs, More fundamentally, the rise of the export garment sector gives an opportunity for

new rural entrepreneurs to Create a new rural industry.

Mote Shige and Masayuki (1998) have made a study on the working and development ofthe "putting-cut system” in Japan. The study shows how rural labor force with a very low

opportunity cost can be capitalized by promoting rural entrepreneurship. The study

exposed the alternative route of economic development in which there is movement of

the modern production base in to the rural sector, rather than migration of the rural labor

force into the urban sector. The study support a way of development in which widespread

industrial activities could be organized in a decentralized manner by exploiting not only


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the physical labor bat also the entrepreneurial ability of the rural people - the two

important resources that were under utilized in the past.

Porus P Munshi (1999) Glass ceilings and maternal walls arc blocks faced by women inorganizations. Currently, women management is handicapped by not having advisers to

guide them and canvas for them in the senior management. The attitude of the society is

that it looks at women as not a helping agent but as a burden. Hence the glass ceiling is

the progeny of this thought. Counseling for the women as well as their counterpart will

help to change this attitude. Economic independence can bring about development in

thought as well as actions

Laoyan Chen (1999) The study shows that Chinese women in rural areas haveincreasingly adopted co-operatives as a form of organization in their effort to address the

problem for their lack of access to resources including land , credit, jobs,, training and

information and to participate in the main stream economy as an organized force.

Dr Sajal Kumar and his associates explained in Entrepreneurial marketing: A strategicmarketing model to survive in a global economic crisis. The women entrepreneurs lack in

the skills of marketing their product, and the assistance required for same is inadequate to

sustain in this competitive market. The model of entrepreneurial marketing and its usage

as a strategic tool to tide over crises. The statutory policies are needed to implement the

marketing models.


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In the traditional Indian society, women are generally accorded in inferior social status.The leadership potentials of women in basically very high, when compared to men. But

the potentials are hidden by the social, economics and potentials construction. India is

ranked 128th in the world gender development index (GDI) in 1995 and ranked 95th in

the world gender empowerment measure (GEM) in 1995. The author is of the opinion

that the women potential is not tapped fully.

According to Center for Women‟s Business Research, McLean Virginia, the overallscenario by 2008-2009 shows that around 10.1 million firms are owned by women in the

United States. These women-owned businesses constitute 40% of all the privately held

businesses. Out of these about 75% are majority women-owned firms. Moreover 3% of

all women-owned businesses have revenues of $1 million or more as compared to 6% of

all men-owned businesses. The United States Census Bureau predicts that by the year

2025, the percentage of women entrepreneurship will increase to over 55%.

It was reported in Canada‟s Labour Force Survey that in 2008 women accounted forabout one-third of all the self-employed people. This means about 33% of all the

entrepreneurs were women as of 2008. Though self-employed here could include people

like franchise owners too, but for broader discussion I am including the data for self-

employed people.

References:

Bennett Naila Kabeer, 1999


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Kabeer, 2001 Mason 1995, p.8-11 Hashemi et al. 1996; Mason 1998, Mason and Smith 2000; Malhotra and Mather 1997 Goetz and Sen Gupta‟s 1996 Linda Mayoux

review of lit women entreprenture 2 corrected

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