Empowerment of women

Submitted ToProf. C.S.Balasubramaniam

Group members
Names Amol Kadam Mansi Palve Mayur Gharat Sameer Pawar Shraddha Pophale Roll No. 28 38 21 46 47

Empowerment
Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, educational, gender, or economic strength of individuals and communities.

Concept Of Empowerment
Social Inclusion Key to Empowerment Gender Equality and Womens Empowerment

Powerful and Empowerment

Process of Empowerment

RESOURCE

AGENCY

OUTCOME

Female work partipication

Women as agents of change

Enhanced /Autonomy in decision making

Economic Benefits Of Women Empowerment

Most women across the globe rely on the informal work sector for an income. If women were empowered to do more and be more; the possibility for economic growth becomes apparent. Eliminating a significant part of a nations work force on the sole basis of gender can have detrimental effects on the economy of that nation. In addition, female participation in counsels, groups, and businesses is seen to increase efficiency. For a general idea on how an empowered women can impact a situation monetarily, a study found that of fortune 500 companies, those with more women board directors had significantly higher financial returns, including 53 percent higher returns on equity, 24 percent higher returns on sales and 67 percent higher returns on invested capital (OECD, 2008).This study shows the impact women can have on the overall economic benefits of a company. If implemented on a global scale, the inclusion of women in the formal workforce (like a fortune 500 company) can increase the economic output of a nation.

Barriers Of Women Empowerment

Many of the barriers to women empowerment and equity lie ingrained into the cultures of certain nations and societies. Many women feel these pressures, while others have become accustomed to being treated inferior to men. Even if men, legislators, NGOs, etc. are aware of the benefits women empowerment and participation can have, many are scared of disrupting the status quo and continue to let societal norms get in the way of development.

Model of Empowerment of Women

Work Participation of Women and Autonomy in Decision Making

Hyperlink of table no. 1 From the Table 1 following points emerge:
Participation in decision-making was found higher for the working women as compared to the non-working women in all aspects of household decision making. Higher the participation in decision making higher is the degree of autonomy. Still one needs to look into the nature of this participation of women. The magnitude of decision making varies across trivial issues, issues related to own self, issues related to children and critical issues.

Magnitude of Autonomy in Decision Making

Hyperlink of table no. 2 From the above chart following points are emerged For matters relating children autonomy were highest. All working women had autonomy in issues relating to children. Only 5% nonworking women were not allowed or did not take part in decision making. In case of issues classified as trivial issues the female participation in decision making is extremely high among working women whereas 9% non-working women did not enjoy autonomy in such issues. For the issues related to own self autonomy ranged roughly between 10 to 20 percent. Autonomy in going for outing or visiting friends/relative/parents i.e., freedom of mobility was most restricted. On health issues around 66 percent non-workers made joint decisions. Independent decision making in own health related issues was almost double for workers.

Autonomy in Decision Making among Working Women

Hyperlink of table no. 3 Decision making was most restricted in financial matters. Around 25-50 percent women did not participate in such decisions with variations in the levels of participation with respect to their status. Around 40 percent non-working women did not participate in decision-making in financial matters relating to borrowing money for household demands, starting business and paying back debts. The Table 2 has been developed to show very clearly the magnitude of participation or autonomy in decision making and variations according to various issues concerned. The facts revealed from this table reiterate the findings inferred from the previous table.

Women Often Beaten

Women Often Beaten
70

% of Respondents Often Beaten

60 50 WORKER 40 30 20 10 0 NON-WORKER

Always

Sometimes

Never

Always

Sometimes

Never

Levels of Assertiveness

Women Beaten Sometimes

Women Beaten Sometimes
60

% of Respondetns Beaten Sometimes

50 40 30 20 10 0

WORKER

NON-WORKER

Always

Sometimes

Never

Always

Sometimes

Never

Levels of Assertiveness

Women Never Beaten

70

Women Never Beaten

WORKER NON-WORKER

% of Women Never Beaten

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Always Sometimes Never Always Sometimes Never

Levels of Assertiveness

Case Study: Kushla Devi

Village: Kanakpur, Tehsil: Handia, Age: 35 years Kuhsla is a mother of seven children (still expecting another). She works in others fields for petty wages (Rs.30 a day or five kg paddy or wheat) apart form bidi making for which she earns a paltry sum of Rs.28 for 1000 bidis. Her husband off and on job as a painter mostly within the village premises. His income hardly meets the domestic requirements as most of his earnings is spent on drinking, gambling and other vices. Thus, the whole burden of familys sustenance is on Shushila. When asked, D;k bl le; vki vius [kku-iku dk /;ku j[krh gS? She bluntly says, my children have not had proper diet for days. When I cant meet feed my children a proper meal a day how do you expect me to eat! Interestingly Kushla fought for the post of pradhan in the panchayat elections on being provoked by her husband. Paradoxical to what is viewed of an empowered female pradhan, Shushila does not even know about her family indebtedness. She blindly okays her husband and puts signature (which she can crudely make) on any document.