SHGs as a Catalyst for Women’s Empowerment: A Study of Gaighata Block in North 24 Parganas

Abstract

Women empowerment as a concept and philosophical basis of public policy is of recent origin. It means transitions from a position of enforced powerlessness to one of power. It promotes women’s inherent strength and positive self-image. Employment literally means making someone powerful, facilitating the weak to attain strength, to increase one’s self esteem, to help someone to be assertive and self-confident, to enable someone to confirm in justice and to support someone to fight for her rights. In the view of Amartya Sen the Nobel laureate improvement is an essential component of development according to this perspective development has to provide women with greater and choice beach employees increasing probabilities to make choice Women’s roles in India have evolved from being limited to the home to participating in business and economic growth. India is expected to become the second-largest startup ecosystem globally, with women making up 48% of the population. Top states for women-owned businesses include Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Social entrepreneurship, including Self-Help Groups (SHGs), addresses social problems like poverty and marginalization. SHGs support women, especially in rural areas, to achieve a stable life and reduce poverty. This study examines factors encouraging women to join SHGs in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, including employment generation, gender inequality, and social value creation, to empower women entrepreneurs and improve their status. This study explores the impact of self-help groups (SHGs) on rural women’s socioeconomic status in Gaighata Block, North 24 Parganas district. SHGs have been instrumental in promoting women’s empowerment, financial inclusion, and social development. Through a mixed-methods approach, this research examines the effectiveness of SHGs in enhancing rural women’s socioeconomic status, focusing on income generation, education, healthcare, and social participation.