Abstract
The Department of Women Affairs (DWA) under the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs offers a number of income generation training for the destitute women for their livelihoods improvement and empowerment. The main focus of the study was to assess the empowerment of women who received training offered by the DWA on Income Generation Activities (IGA). The study also aimed at examining the changes in women's empowerment status before and after participation in IGA training, determining the factors influencing empowerment of women, and exploring the barriers of women's way of achieving empowerment. A total of 2040 women, who received training during the years 2010-2012 from four training centers of the DWA were the population of the study. Ten percent of the population, i.e., 204 IGA training participants (36 from apiculture, 45 from mushroom cultivation, 37 from homestead gardening and 86 from tailoring) were randomly selected as the sample of the study. Data were collected by using a structured questionnaire through face to face interview during July to December 2017. The empowerment of women was measured based on five indicators such as access to resources, contribution to family expenditure, freedom of mobility, social capital and participation in household decision-making process. A four-point rating scale was used to determine the status of empowerment of women for a total 35 items (seven items for each of the five indicators). The empowerment status of women, on the other hand, was assessed considering the status of indicators 'before' and 'after' participation in four IGA training. Fourteen selected characteristics of the women were considered as the independent variables of the study which were measured using numerical values and conventional scales. Frequency distribution, ranges, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to describe the variables while inferential statistics like Pearson's Product Moment Coefficient of Correlation (r), multiple regression analysis and path analysis were used for testing hypotheses of the study. The results revealed that, before getting training majority of the women (52.94 percent) had low empowerment status followed by 43.14 percent having medium empowerment status and only 3.92 percent had high empowerment status. On the other hand, it was found that after getting training and involving in IGA, majority of the women (62.63 percent) had high empowerment status followed by 34.31 percent and 3.06 percent having medium and low empowerment status, respectively. The t-value showed that the mean differences between women's empowerment status 'before' and 'after' IGA involvement was also significant. Out of 14 characteristics of the women, eleven were found significantly correlated to their empowerment. These were: age, education, working experience, personal annual income, and family annual income, level of aspiration, self-confidence, and awareness on legal rights, family co-operation, economic self-reliance, and attitude towards IGAS. The regression analysis showed that 63.3 percent variation of the dependent variable was explained by four explanatory variables viz. level of aspiration, education, working experience and family annual income. The path analysis also showed these four characteristics had varying extent of direct and indirect effects on empowerment status of the women. Lack of awareness on woman value in family members, inadequate social security, men's negative attitude towards working women, and women's dependence on men were opined by the women as the major hurdles of achieving empowerment while involvement in IGAS.