In rural India, the establishment of women-led Self-Help Groups (SHGs) is mainly motivated by the philosophy of women empowerment and holistic socio-economic growth. But this has been often noticed that the influence of such SHGs has often been limited to that of small-scale lenders, which is a large deviation from the idea behind the planning and establishment of these SHGs. Women-led SHGs have the potential to develop skilled workforce. But development of skilled workforce is not the major objective of the SHGs. Members of these SHGs often face business-related issues and to resolve these issues, they have to employ their business skills. The process of solving business-related problem develops entrepreneurial skills among the women members of SHGs, which, in turn, leads to greater self-reliance and leads the way to women empowerment. Most studies on women-led SHGs emphasized the financial improvements of the women and also the advancement in their technical skills. The present study aims to capture an image of the entrepreneurial skill gaps among the members of women-led SHGs. The research study was steered in three villages of Bhangar II block of West Bengal and members of women-led SHGs were the samples. The study identifies crucial skill gaps among the members of women-led SHGs and the discoveries of this study could be used to develop policies, which can reduce these skill gaps, develop better women entrepreneurs, and pave the way for women empowerment.

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Empowerment or Limitation: How Effective Are Women-Led SHGs in Fostering Entrepreneurial Spirit?

  • Saugat Ghosh,
  • Soma Sur,
  • Sitangshu Khatua

摘要

In rural India, the establishment of women-led Self-Help Groups (SHGs) is mainly motivated by the philosophy of women empowerment and holistic socio-economic growth. But this has been often noticed that the influence of such SHGs has often been limited to that of small-scale lenders, which is a large deviation from the idea behind the planning and establishment of these SHGs. Women-led SHGs have the potential to develop skilled workforce. But development of skilled workforce is not the major objective of the SHGs. Members of these SHGs often face business-related issues and to resolve these issues, they have to employ their business skills. The process of solving business-related problem develops entrepreneurial skills among the women members of SHGs, which, in turn, leads to greater self-reliance and leads the way to women empowerment. Most studies on women-led SHGs emphasized the financial improvements of the women and also the advancement in their technical skills. The present study aims to capture an image of the entrepreneurial skill gaps among the members of women-led SHGs. The research study was steered in three villages of Bhangar II block of West Bengal and members of women-led SHGs were the samples. The study identifies crucial skill gaps among the members of women-led SHGs and the discoveries of this study could be used to develop policies, which can reduce these skill gaps, develop better women entrepreneurs, and pave the way for women empowerment.