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Christianson, Stace Hucks. "Mormon Women's Sense of Empowerment." Diss., CLICK HERE for online access, 1997. http://patriot.lib.byu.edu/u?/MTAF,24557.
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KOKKIZIL, MELIKE. "Essays on Religiosity and Women's Empowerment." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10281/330689.
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La religione rappresenta un importante determinante degli atteggiamenti degli agenti economici. Pertanto, l'interesse degli studiosi per le norme sociali radicate nella cultura religiosa non è nuovo e i dibattiti sulle loro implicazioni sulle economie sono stati attivi sin dall'istituzione delle scienze sociali moderne. Ma, oltre a questo, i partiti populisti di destra stanno acquisendo più potere al giorno d'oggi, ei sentimenti religiosi delle persone sono stati uno dei tanti strumenti a cui le figure politiche spesso si rivolgono quando mirano a soddisfare rapidamente gli elettori. Pertanto, non sorprende che un giovane economista si interessi maggiormente alle conseguenze economiche e sociali della religiosità.
Questa tesi riguarda gli effetti della religiosità musulmana sulla disuguaglianza di genere nell'istruzione. Le tradizioni religiose della società hanno storicamente dato una forma particolare alle regole formali e informali che modellano atteggiamenti e decisioni. La natura patriarcale della maggior parte delle tradizioni religiose porta a uomini e donne ruoli ideali diversi, con alcune conseguenze negative per le capacità delle donne. Sebbene lo svantaggio femminile in un contesto religioso non rimanga confinato all'Islam, la maggior parte dei paesi a maggioranza musulmana oggi mostra scarse prestazioni in termini di parità di genere. Con questa motivazione, la tesi esamina l'effetto della religiosità musulmana sul capitale umano, che si pone come elemento essenziale dello sviluppo economico e dell'uguaglianza di genere. Il primo capitolo si concentra sulle abilità STEM degli studenti dei paesi musulmani e indaga se la religiosità spiega le profonde disuguaglianze di genere nel mondo islamico perché tale formazione di abilità determinerà il futuro delle economie a lungo termine. L'altro capitolo si concentra sulla prima generazione della Repubblica turca, il primo paese laico a maggioranza musulmana, ed esplora come la religiosità dei genitori influenzi il livello di istruzione delle donne e le loro successive esiti di vita in Turchia. In questi studi, il Ramadan costituisce la fonte esogena di variazione nella religiosità.
Il Capitolo 1 analizza le origini delle disuguaglianze di genere nei paesi musulmani esaminando l'effetto della religiosità sui risultati delle studentesse e degli studenti in Matematica e Scienze. Utilizzando i punteggi dei test di Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study di studenti dell'ottavo anno nei paesi musulmani, mostro che le prestazioni STEM delle studentesse peggiorano significativamente nei tre mesi successivi al Ramadan. Tuttavia, il Ramadan non influisce sui punteggi degli studenti maschi. Questo risultato è dovuto all'aumento della religiosità e al successivo rafforzamento delle norme di genere tradizionali tra i genitori. Fornisco inoltre prove di un aumento degli stereotipi di genere, provocato da una bassa autostima, pressione negativa dei pari, esaurimento della memoria e trattamento parentale rigoroso sulle donne, all'indomani del Ramadan.
Il Capitolo 2 analizza gli effetti della religiosità genitoriale sui risultati scolastici e di altra vita della prole femminile. Il verificarsi del Ramadan al momento del periodo di iscrizione alla scuola primaria riduce le possibilità delle ragazze di completare l'istruzione primaria. Nasce dalla salienza delle norme tradizionali di genere che la religiosità genera. La religiosità genitoriale ha effetti persistenti sui risultati del mercato del lavoro femminile. Diventano meno propensi a trovarsi nel mercato del lavoro e persone che percepiscono un reddito e meno probabilità di lavorare in lavori professionali. Invece, una maggiore religiosità nell'età critica della scolarizzazione aumenta il numero di bambini che le donne hanno partorito e la probabilità che le donne rimangano fuori dalla forza lavoro a causa delle responsabilità familiari.Religion represents an important determinant of economic agents’ attitudes. Thus, the interest of scholars in the social norms rooted in the religious culture is not new, and the debates over their implications on economies have been active since the establishment of modern social sciences. But, over and above this, populist right-wing parties are getting more power nowadays, and religious sentiments of people have been one of the several instruments that the political figures frequently address when they aim to please voters quickly. Therefore, it is an unsurprising circumstance that a young economist takes a greater interest in the economic and social consequences of religiosity. This thesis is about the effects of Muslim religiosity on gender inequality in education. Religious traditions of society have historically given a particular form to the formal and informal rules shaping attitudes and decisions. The patriarchal nature of most religious traditions brings different ideal roles to men and women, with some negative consequences for women’s abilities. Although the female disadvantage in a religious context does not remain confined to Islam, most of the Muslim-majority countries today exhibit poor performance in gender equality. With this motivation, the thesis examines the effect of Muslim religiosity on human capital, which stands as the essential element of economic development and gender equality. The first chapter focuses on the STEM skills of students from Muslim countries and investigates whether religiosity explains the deep-rooted gender inequalities in the Islamic world because such skill formation will dictate the future of economies in the long run. The other chapter concentrates on the first generation of the Turkish Republic, the first secular Muslim-majority country, and explores how parental religiosity affects women's educational attainment and their later life outcomes in Turkey. In these studies, Ramadan constitutes the exogenous source of variation in religiosity. Chapter 1 analyzes the origins of gender inequalities in Muslim countries by examining the effect of religiosity on female and male students' achievements in Mathematics and Sciences. Using Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study test scores of eighth-graders in Muslim countries, I show that STEM performances of female students significantly worsen in the three months after Ramadan. Yet, Ramadan does not affect male students' scores. This result is due to increased religiosity and subsequent reinforcement of traditional gender norms among parents. I further provide evidence of increased gender stereotypes, proxied by low self-confidence, negative peer pressure, memory depletion, and strict parental treatment on females, in the aftermath of Ramadan. Chapter 2 analyzes the effects of parental religiosity on female offsprings' educational and other life-long outcomes. The occurrence of Ramadan at the time of the primary school enrollment period reduces girls' chance to complete primary education. It arises from the salience of traditional gender norms that religiosity engenders. Parental religiosity has persistent effects on females’ labor market outcomes. They become less likely to be in the labor market and income-earners and less likely to work in professional jobs. Instead, increased religiosity at the critical age of schooling increases the number of children that women have given birth and the probability of women being out of the labor force due to household responsibilities.
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McCleary, Marlee R. "Microfinance and women's empowerment interviews from Kosovo /." Tallahassee, Fla. : Florida State University, 2010. http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/lib/digcoll/undergraduate/honors-theses/2181957.
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Thesis (Honors paper)--Florida State University, 2010.Advisor: Dr. Will Moore, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences, Dept. of International Affairs. Includes bibliographical references.
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MariÌn, Rosa Elena Riaño. "Women's empowerment : an avenue to gender equality?" Thesis, University of East Anglia, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.427143.
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The aim of this research is to investigate whether and how women's financial contributions to household resources might lead to changes in gender relations. It feeds directly into current concerns about women's empowerment and gender equality which are on the agenda of international and national bodies, scholars and development practitioners and is anchored in the debate about the importance of women's income-earning activities for achieving gender equality. The research focuses on relationships between women and men in a poor rural settlement in northeastern Mexico. The thesis details the negotiating and bargaining processes between women and men in 23 households and examines how these relationships and the identities of the women and men involved are influenced by the context in which they are embedded. This context includes the community itself as well as government policy as experienced through income generating projects, and wider Mexican cultural norms. The research findings support the argument that incomeearning activities alone will not result in the changes often sought by development practitioners and feminists, and now also by governments worldwide. Wider changes in the cultural and economic environment are also needed to change the perceptions of self and others that individuals bring to their gender relations. These changes in perception are central to maintaining or reinforcing changes in gendered power relations. The research findings pointed to no significant changes in women's and men's identities, and motherhood continues to be the only source of power for rural women whose economic contributions are under-valued. The structures of power within which poor rural women, with a limited resource base and limited social networks, carry out their income-earning activities do not create an enabling environment for transformatory changes to occur in their gender relations
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Subasat, Jasmine Yoko. "Salvadoran women's empowerment : adult literacy as development." Thesis, SOAS, University of London, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.443824.
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Flores-Martinez, Artemisa. "Women's empowerment and the welfare of children." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2013. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/59698/.
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This thesis investigates whether women's empowerment affects children's wellbeing in two developing countries: Mexico and India. The first chapter provides a background on women's empowerment. The second chapter evaluates a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, which provides poor women in Mexico with tools to be better mothers, in terms of its impact on birthweight. The third chapter analyses whether empowered women, referred as those who have progressive gender attitudes, are more likely to have a firstborn girl in Delhi, India. Specifically, the second chapter evaluates PROGRESA-Oportunidades, a program that pays mothers cash in exchange of their investment in their children's human capital: education, health, and nutrition. Using quantile regressions, the chapter finds a positive and significant program effect, but babies at the upper tail of the conditional birthweight distribution seem to have benefited the most. Moreover, maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with a 459-gram decrease on birthweights at the 20th percentile of the conditional distribution, completely wiping out any program benefits. This effect is not picked up by least squares regression estimates, which is the technique used by previous literature on the subject. The third chapter turns to India, a country that has lost millions of girls to sex-selective abortions. The chapter first constructs a women's empowerment (progressivity ) index using a latent factor model, and then assesses whether progressive women are more likely to have a firstborn girl in Delhi. The latter territory has, unlike the Indian average, 'missing' women even among first order births. The results show that a one-standard deviation increase in the progressivity index is associated with a 5.8-percentage point increase in the likelihood of a firstborn girl relative to women who have not yet given birth.
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Galindo-Arévalo, María Teresa. "Women's empowerment through cooperatives in Latin America." The Ohio State University, 1995. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1387449194.
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Bae, Geum-Joo. "Reviewing United Nations world conferences on women for Korean women's empowerment." College Park, Md. : University of Maryland, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/1541.
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Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2004.Thesis research directed by: Women's Studies. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.
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Lakwo, Alfred. "Microfinance, rural livelihoods, and women's empowerment in Uganda." Leiden : African Studies Centre, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1887/11945.
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Rabinowitz, Amy Phyllis. "Education for empowerment: the role of emerging statewide organizations in gaining economic justice for women /." Access Digital Full Text version, 1991. http://pocketknowledge.tc.columbia.edu/home.php/bybib/11168638.
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Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Teachers College, Columbia University, 1991.Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Ellen Condliffe Lagemann. Dissertation Committee: Lawrence Cremin. Includes bibliographical references: (leaves 118-121).
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Stewart, Eileen. "Limited empowerment in a South India women's producer organisation, evaluating the economic empowerment approach." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp04/mq22100.pdf.
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Rowlands, Joanna Mary. "Empowerment examined : an exploration of the concept and practice of women's empowerment in Honduras." Thesis, Durham University, 1995. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1424/.
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Stewart, Eileen (Eileen Louise) Carleton University Dissertation International Affairs. "Limited empowerment in a South India women's producer organisation; evaluating the economic empowerment approach." Ottawa, 1997.
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Salim, Al Mazro'ei Lubna Badar. "Questioning women's empowerment through tourism entrepreneurship opportunities : the case of Omani women." Thesis, Edinburgh Napier University, 2017. http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/995563.
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This thesis adopts critical feminist theory, which is a combination of both critical theory and feminist theory, to explore the nature and experiences of Omani women involved in tourism entrepreneurship with particular regard to empowerment. Several studies have identified the potential role of tourism entrepreneurship to empower women due to the many benefits that it provides. However, this potential, and the extent that it empowers women, has been questioned. A review of the literature on women in tourism entrepreneurship reveals that there are several issues that have theoretical and practical implications for women's empowerment through this activity. Furthermore, a review of the development studies literature indicates that there are many prevailing issues and debates surrounding the concept of women's empowerment thatmerit further investigation. The fieldwork for this research took place in Oman during 2013-‐2014 and included an examination of a hosting group, sewing group and a number of women tourism entrepreneurs. Participant observations and semi-structured/unstructured interviews were conducted to collect information about these women. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected information and to develop three ethnographic case studies. The findings of this research reveal that tourism entrepreneurship does not inevitably bring about empowerment for Omani women. It is far from being an activity for women's individual and collective empowerment, given that the scope for such remains dependent on the embedded environment and is influenced by the nature of tourism enterprise work. An empirically informed conceptual framework was developed from the data to present this phenomenon. A grounded conceptualization was also developed from the data to conceptualize the process of women's empowerment for Omani women in tourism entrepreneurship. Theoretical implications of the findings areidentified in relation to the appropriate use of the concept of women's empowerment in tourism research. Practical implications of the findings are also identified in relation to local and international tourism organisations that utilises tourism entrepreneurship opportunities for women's empowerment purposes.
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Shearer, Nelma Beth Crawford. "Facilitators of health empowerment in women." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/289115.
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The purpose of this study was to test a theoretical model of the process of health empowerment in women. The proposed model examined empowerment from a theoretical perspective based upon a Rogerian framework and Parse's simultaneity paradigm. The model examined interpersonal factors (social support and professional support) and contextual factors (age, income, years of education, number of children, and number of years currently married). Women's health empowerment was indexed using Power as Knowing Participation in Change Tool and Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile Instrument. A convenience sample of 133 women between the ages of 21 and 45 years with children were obtained from the Arizona State University College of Nursing sponsored Community Health Services Clinic to test the theory. Hierarchical multiple regression technique was used to explain women's health empowerment. Results indicated a 38% of the variance in health empowerment measured as knowing participation in change was explained by a significant beta weight for social support. In addition, a significant 43% of the variance in health empowerment, measured as lifestyle behaviors, was explained by significant beta weights for education and social support.
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Mironesco, Monique. "Feminist consciousness, voice, and empowerment : Women's Studies in Hawaiʻi." Thesis, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/3064.
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This dissertation investigates the impact of Women's Studies classes and programs on women adult learners in the University of Hawaiʻi system on Oʻahu with regards to feminist consciousness, voice, empowerment, and identity. I pay special attention to feminist methodological questions as well as my own location as a white researcher from the university researching and interpreting the narratives of (mostly) women of color in Hawaiʻi. Feminism, feminist consciousness and voice are examined through a variety of cultural practices and ethnic lenses. The concept of feminist consciousness is most usefully used as a process, including, but also moving beyond a basic awareness of gender discrimination and stereotypes. Voice and feminist languages are identified in a variety of ways beyond participation in class, allowing for classroom community and feminist pedagogy to play significant roles in voice creation and use. Power and empowerment as facilitated by Women's Studies classes are at the forefront of major life changes for the participants in this study. They provide a springboard for self-definition and self-determination, enabling significant intellectual outcomes. I also examine identity and the (re)production of self, in conjunction with feminist consciousness and empowerment, as processes. There are racial and ethnic differences in the understanding of identity, especially in Hawaiʻi, where colonialism continues to playa role in history and society. The reexamination of their roles as wives/girlfriends, daughters, and mothers is particularly reflective of the sense of agency the participants discussed after having taken a Women's Studies class. Indeed, these, along with many others comprise the specific effects of Women's Studies classes on women adult learners. The conclusion suggests possible methods for further study of the topic. It also offers suggestions as to how Women's Studies programs in Hawaiʻi could further expand their reach and influence on their students.Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2003.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 344-350).
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Also available by subscription via World Wide Web
vii, 359 leaves, bound 29 cm
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Rörström, Rosanna. "Men's Perspective on Women's Empowerment in Babati District, Tanzania." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för livsvetenskaper, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-9946.
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This study aims to define men’s perspective on women’s agency and entrepreneurship, and the gender changing roles within the household in Babati district, Tanzania. Women’s empowerment is a notion recently put into practice in several African states today. The notion has transpired from women’s collective ability to organize, act and demand in patriarchal societies in recent decades, resulting in their increased influential and politicized roles. This has further led to constitutional law amendments in Tanzania as well as the establishment of local microfinance institutions, promoting women’s social mobilization. The study is based on semi-structured interviews and secondary sources. The interviews include local men from Babati district, whose wives are active in organizations and/or own a business, as well as a Social Welfare Officer from Babati Development Town Council. The theoretical framework is mainly composed of literature focusing on African pre-colonial gender roles and stereotypical ideas of gender that have affected how gender roles are perceived today. The results emerged as generally positive attitudes towards women’s empowerment. Most men stated that women have ascertained a position of increased influence both within and outside the household in the past decade. However, the positive results have been interpreted through different aspects. Unemployment is discussed as a large societal issue in Babati district, and most men interviewed were unemployed, which could have affected the results and perceptions of women’s social roles. Additionally, this disempowers the traditional role of men as head of the household, also interpreted as a consequence due to women’s empowerment.
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Sukontamarn, Pataporn. "NGOs, human capital, and women's empowerment : evidence from Bangladesh." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2006. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/1950/.
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This thesis studies the effects of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on human capital investment and women's empowerment in Bangladesh. Chapter Two studies how the entry of NGOs in primary education has affected educational outcomes of girls and examines the mechanisms which account for the relative performance of NGO versus state schools in improving female educational outcomes. The results show that the entry of NGO schools has significantly increased girls' enrollment as compared to boys. The two most prominent characteristics of NGO schools that encourage girls' enrollment are the high percentage of female teachers and having Parent-Teacher Associations. NGO schools show strong effects in improving children's test scores. Chapter Three analyzes the factors which affect teacher presence, student attendance, and community participation in primary schools in Bangladesh. The results show that, after controlling for other factors, NGO school teachers are more likely to be present in school, NGO schools are associated with higher student attendance rates, and guardians of NGO school students, in particular mothers, are more likely to participate in school meetings. Motivation appears the most important factor explaining teacher presence among NGO school teachers. Teacher attendance rate and other factors relating to curriculum and school facility explain student attendance in NGO schools. Chapter Four investigates the effects of having the Grameen Bank in the village of residence on fertility decisions and women's empowerment. The results suggest that the Grameen Bank affects fertility decisions in the direction towards lower fertility. The changes include a reduction in women's ideal number of children and the number of births in the year prior to the survey, and an increase in husband's approval rate, and actual use, of family planning methods. Having the Grameen Bank in the village shows positive relationship with women's empowerment as measured by contribution to family support and mobility.
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Taghvatalab, Sara. "Essays on Women's Empowerment and Economic Development in Iran." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/82235.
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This dissertation consists of three essays on women empowerment in Iran. In the first two chapters, we examine the impact of the rapid expansion of electricity to rural areas of Iran after the 1979 revolution on two important determinants of women's empowerment, fertility and female literacy. We use the timing of provision of electricity to villages to identify its impact on the child-woman ratio and the literacy rate of adult women and men. We use difference-in-differences (DID) method as well as instrumental variables (IV) to account for the potential endogeneity of electrification. Our findings for the impact of electricity on fertility is highly sensitive to the method of identification. The DID results imply that electrification lowers fertility whereas the IV estimates suggest the opposite. The results on literacy are consistent across estimation methods, both showing that electrification increases female literacy.
In the third chapter, we focus on the role of education in the empowerment of women. The positive effects of education on female empowerment through lower fertility and greater labor force participation are well known. Female empowerment is also closely identified with greater participation in market work and access to an independent source of income. In the past two decades Iranian women have increased their education, lowered their fertility, but their labor force participation remains low. In this chapter we examine the role of education in the empowerment of Iranian women through their allocation of time between domestic work, child education, and market work.
We find evidence that more educated women spend more time in market related activities and child education, but less in domestic work. The behavior of women in time allocation to market work and childcare exhibits similar patterns and both are quite different from house or domestic work. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that education empowers women by increasing their ability to earn more income as well as through their ability to invest in the education of their children.Ph. D.
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Chaney, Kathryn Elise. "Work and Women's Empowerment: An Examination of South Asia." Wright State University / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1514051407055113.
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Wakoko, Florence. "Microfinance and women's empowerment in Uganda a socioeconomic approach /." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1064325172.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003.Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 196 p.; also contains graphics (some col.). Includes abstract and vita. Advisor: Linda M. Labao, Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology. Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-196).
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Arruda, Nancy Ahne. "The politics in popular urban women's organizing, empowerment and women's organizing in Rio's favelas." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/MQ56300.pdf.
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Pleno, Manuel Jose L. "Ecotourism Projects and Women's Empowerment:A Case Study in the Province of Bohol,Philippines." Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2237/7309.
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Hamzic, Elma, and Maja Ekbladh. "Women in Tourism: Exploring the Links between Women's Skills Development, Empowerment and Employment." Thesis, Högskolan för lärande och kommunikation, Högskolan i Jönköping, HLK, Globala studier, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-37031.
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Women's empowerment is a current and crucial issue of our time. There is increasing recognition that the economic empowerment of women is essential both to realize women’s rights, and toachieve broader development goals such as economic growth, poverty reduction, health,education and welfare. This qualitative study explores women's empowerment through skills education and employment in Bali, Indonesia. The purpose of this study is to investigate the respondents experience of changes in their everyday life conditions, with particular focus on economic empowerment, with reference to other spheres of the women's empowerment. The aim is to provide knowledge that may be valuable for the work with vocational education and training for women's empowerment in the future. The study relied on semi structured interviews with Indonesian women exploring individual experiences in their everyday local context. Empowerment is a complex topic with an irreducible subjective element. The results showed empowerment at the individual level and as the research highlighted changes in different areas oftheir life was it proved difficult to grasp the extent of this change. In general, the participants experiences somewhat differed, depending on internal and external factors as well as context, describing varied changes in their life conditions. However, all the women explain the outcomeas more or less successful in different spheres of their lives. The study also stresses the need for further research, suggesting exploration in the field with supportive quantitative evidence and longitudinal study.
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Özdemir, Hale. "The Road to Women’s Empowerment in a Man's Crop : A field study of Ugandan women's empowerment process in the coffee farming industry." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-375773.
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In recent years the concept of empowerment has flourished to a large extent, not least in development studies. Empowering marginalised communities, poor people and women has become a priority for development agencies and organisations. This thesis aims to assess how women are empowered by a top-down approach through International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) and a bottom-up approach through the women themselves. The paper is based on a field study that took place in the coffee farms of Uganda where women face enormous challenges as they work in an exploited industry and live with husbands who often withhold the income of the work the women have done. Drawing on Naila Kabeer’s definition of empowerment, this paper looks at if and how the resources, agency and achievements of the women have led to empowerment in the levels of household, workplace and community. The research strategy used for this paper is data collected from semi-structured interviews with women working in coffee farms in Uganda. The results show that women become empowered to a large extent in the workplace and community levels but struggle in the household level. There is not sufficient transformative power from IWCA and the women themselves to change the structures regarding gender-norms that are vastly embedded in the culture. There is a need to raise more awareness and knowledge, not only for women and organisations but for the men as well, in order to reach women’s empowerment and gender equality.
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Spajic, Ana-Marija. "Women's empowerment in Neo-Paganism : A study of power and gender and what we can learn about women’s empowerment in Neo- Paganism." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-412858.
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Too often women have a secondary place in religious institutions, with no possibility to influence or come into leading positions. This thesis aims to understand women’s empowerment by searching for such examples in Neo-Paganism, a growing New Religious Movement (NRM) in the west. Grace Jantzen’s development of Foucault’s power theory is utilized to analyze and understand the results. A mixed method is used; four interviews are conducted with Wiccan and Druid women, a survey of 332 women is analyzed, and literature and studies on Neo-Paganism are analyzed. I draw the conclusion that Neo-Paganism can empower women in different ways, however, this can be influenced by socio-cultural factors, as empowerment can look very different in different countries. The result is meant to provide us with an understanding of women’s needs in a religious and spiritual context, so that women may become empowered within their religious communities.
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Tripodi, Francesca. "Empowermetrics evaluating metrics for women's empowerment and exploring new alternatives /." Connect to Electronic Thesis (CONTENTdm), 2010. http://worldcat.org/oclc/649702725/viewonline.
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Lawrence, Yolisa Innocentia. "Poverty alleviation through empowerment and participation: the Seki Women's Foundation." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020020.
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As poverty alleviation projects are being established in communities in order to reduce the impact of unemployment, crime, and inequality as well as other factors propagating poverty, numerous projects fail to democratically meet the needs of the poor majority. Development initiatives brought forth by government and non-governmental organisations, which adopt a top-down approach in order to accelerate development, do not always have a positive effect on the community, especially on the poor majority, which development is meant to empower and benefit. This results in the short life span of the project and leads the community into immense poverty. Thus, the focus of this research paper was to evaluate the extent to which poverty alleviation projects such as the Seki Women’s Foundation, contribute towards the alleviation of poverty in its community, located in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth. This evaluation study focused more on aspects of development concerning community participation, empowerment through skills training and project sustainability. The objectives of the study were to investigate the values, aims and objectives of the Seki Women’s Foundation; how these values, aims and objectives were fulfilled; the challenges faced by the project towards effective community development and the determinants of the long-term sustainability of the project. The research study adopted a qualitative approach, which allowed the researcher to collect meaningful knowledge from the volunteers and stakeholders by conducting semi-structured interviews and a focus group which were guided by open-ended questions. The data was thematically analysed where important concepts were coded in order to obtain accurate information so that valid results could be reached. The main findings of the research study suggested that the contribution made by the Seki Women’s Foundation towards poverty alleviation and community development is to empower the volunteers and community through skills training in baking, gardening and sewing. The volunteers share these skills amongst community members, enabling them to be self-sufficient and implement the skills in their own surroundings. The project builds strong partnerships with the stakeholders by being accountable and transparent about the utilisation of funds through report formulation. Although the project implements some principles of community development, the full participation of volunteers in the development process remains a concern, especially in decision making. The challenges faced by the project are concerned with burglary of clothing containers, stealing of vegetation and garden tools and the community not buying the products sold by the project. The research study recommends that the volunteers reason with the community and instil trust and honesty to avoid crime. The project should instil authentic participation in all development processes and form a partnership with local shops in convincing them to sell their produce as this will allow some income to generate within the project and community.
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Brown, Andrea M. "Democratisation in Tanzania, women's associations and the potential for empowerment." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0017/NQ45771.pdf.
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Prasilowati, Sri Lestari. "An analysis of women's education in Indonesia, empowerment and barriers." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ56719.pdf.
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Sutton-Brown, Camille. "Women's Empowerment in the Context of Microfinance: A Photovoice Study." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2011. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/eps_diss/76.
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The assumptions underlying the relationships between microfinance and women’s empowerment are typically rooted in a financial paradigm, wherein the prevailing belief is that increases in economic resources necessarily lead to increases in women’s empowerment. This results in a conceptual erasure of the multi-dimensionality of empowerment and disregards the influences that microfinance has on women that extend beyond the economic sphere. This study explored how 6 women in Mali perceive and experience empowerment in relation to their participation in a microfinance program using photovoice. Photovoice is a qualitative methodology wherein participants document, reflect on, and represent their community and experiences using a specific photographic technique. The photographic collection that the women generated, along with their narratives and oral testimonies, suggest that empowerment is a complex construct that includes, yet extends beyond the financial paradigm. The findings of this indicate that microfinance has positively and negatively impacted various dimensions of the women’s perceived empowerment. At the conclusion of the project, the women participated in a forum and initiated policy changes at the microfinance institution with which they are affiliated.
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Djossou, Agboadannon Koumagnon Alfred. "African women's empowerment : a study in Amma Darko's selected novels." Thesis, Le Mans, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018LEMA3008/document.
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Cette thèse entreprend une analyse des romancières africaines qui ont un avis différent sur la question de la description des personnages féminins et un point de vue différent du rôle de leurs fictions qui peuvent être utilisées pour promouvoir les femmes. La thèse examine l'influence de la culture et des coutumes africaines dans les romans de l'écrivaine ghanéenne, Amma Darko. Ses écrits, de la 3e génération, partent de l'hypothèse générale de l'existence de groupes minoritaires au sein de la littérature parmi lesquels se trouve celui de l'écrivaine, dont les textes ont un écho de plus en plus fort dans le champs littéraire. La thèse pose un problème de refondation du paradigme, culturel et à cet effet Amma Darko propose des solutions de règlement de la crise homme/femme. Finalement, mis à part le point de vue esthétique, la thèse montre combien Darko est aux avant-postes de la littérature engagée au service de la société et d'une idéologie féministeThis thesis adresses the question of wether African female novelists have a different view in portraying their female characters ans it investigates on wether their fiction can inspire women'e empowerment. It examines the influence of culture and customs in the selected novels by Amma Darko. Focusing on thse novels of the third generation, the thesis explores mods of memories, trauma and history writing and highlights the way she represents, reaffirms ans re-positions women in her creative writings to empower them in society.It analyses the solutions o issues raised through the novelist's choracters. This thesis finally shows how much Amma Darko' is at the forefront of a committed African litterature written by African women with an ideological point of view
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Johnstone-Louis, Mary. "Women's empowerment through entrepreneurship : an examination of theory and practice." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2017. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:88664900-5e03-469b-829d-bec642c9d904.
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Corporate-led programs aimed at increasing women's entrepreneurship are rapidly proliferating across many industries. The gendered nature of this phenomenon suggests that feminist approaches may bring much to bear on analysis of management theory and practice. In particular, I argue that insights from feminist economics regarding the historically prevalent - but narrow and gendered - definition of work, which artificially separates production from reproduction, provide fruitful tools for theory building and analysis of practice. Through a systematic literature review of the entrepreneurship literature, I demonstrate that the gendered separation of production and reproduction is typically taken as given in mainstream management theory. Findings from two organizational cases, both featuring industry-embedded approaches to women's empowerment, support the conclusion that unpaid/care work and market work are typically framed as forms of activity that are gendered, dichotomous, and existing in ontological conflict with one another in management practice. I present a conceptual framework of what is to be gained by examining management theory and practice in this light, and suggest how scholars and practitioners might use this framework for future work and research.
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Lacy, Jenkins Courtney. "Perception, Opportunity, Empowerment, and Policy: Women's Influence in Kentucky Agriculture." UKnowledge, 2016. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cld_etds/25.
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The number of women farmers in the United States is increasing at a substantial rate. Women are fulfilling various roles on the farm and stepping into formal leadership positions in the agricultural community. This study surveys the perception of women reputational leaders in Kentucky agriculture among traditional agricultural leaders, the opportunities available to women in agriculture, the sources empowering women to serve in leadership capacities in agriculture, and how women reputational leaders influence agriculture and agricultural policy in Kentucky. The research revealed that the dynamic of Kentucky agriculture is shifting. Women have made significant strides in agriculture as farmers and professionals, resulting in women assuming formal leadership posts at all levels. Findings indicate there are ample opportunities for women in agriculture to receive informal training and education that will benefit their farm operation, but the programs should be designed solely with women’s needs in mind to be effective. Recommendations for further research include an intersectionality study of Kentucky’s women leaders in agriculture, a study of the potency of the Cooperative Extension Service and post-secondary educational institutions for grooming women leaders, and research to help determine why women tend to seek out volunteer roles in agricultural organizations rather than leadership positions.
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Choudhury, Gias Uddin Ahmed. "Impact of Microcredit Program on Women's Empowerment in Rural Bangladesh." Thesis, Karlstads universitet, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-80192.
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Background – This study is an attempt to explore the relationship between microcredit and the socio-economic empowerment of women in rural Bangladesh. Microcredit is simply the extension of a small amount of collateral-free institutional loans to jointly liable poor group members to generate employment and income enhancing activities. As it is too difficult for poor members to get loan from the formal credit institutions, Grameen Bank (GB) or other Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) provide small loans to vulnerable groups of the society by which they are expected to empower over his counterparts. Research questions – RQ1: How does micro-credit affect different indicators of women empowerment in the rural areas of Bangladesh? RQ2– Is the impact different from the male counterparts in the sample households? Purpose – This study is an effort to find the impact of microcredit on a number of indicators of women’s empowerment in the rural areas in Bangladesh. Methodology – Quantitative Regression Techniques such as Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and Instrumental Variable (IV) method have been applied to get the relationship between microcredit and women empowerment. Conclusion – Applying nationally representative cross-section survey data, Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) 2015, this thesis is intended to find the causal linkage between microcredit and women empowerment’s with different dimensions of women’s decisions are taken as empowerment indicators: production, resources, income, leadership, savings and time. The analysis has been conducted at the household level. The study assumes that women empowerment is endogenous. After controlling for endogeneity in the estimation by using an instrumental variable (IV) ‘distance to the market’ this study finds a significant relationship between microcredit and different dimensions of women’s empowerment. Participation in the microcredit program is found to be significant in explaining some of the outcome indicators of empowerment for the sampled households.
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Lawson, Aleta Mae. "Freedom to Be One's Self: Appalachian Women's Perspectives on Empowerment." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/33214.
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This study explores what constitutes empowerment among a small group of Appalachian women and the developmental and cultural factors that they believe contribute to such empowerment. Twelve women completed in-depth interviews and questionnaires about their lifespan development with regard to cultural context and progression through Erikson's Psychosocial Stages of Development. The purpose of the study was to explore women's perceptions of what empowerment is for them and how this is influenced by their developmental histories. This study is a unique contribution to the literature in that it focuses on empowerment from a developmental perspective and seeks to identify factors in lifespan development and cultural context that affect empowerment, focusing on a frequently marginalized population, Appalachian women. The data were examined within an Eriksonian framework in relationship to how successful development through Erikson's psychosocial stages affects empowerment.Qualitative analysis of the results indicated that the participants felt that developmental and cultural factors did contribute to the degree of empowerment women experience as adults. The results also indicated that the Appalachian environment and culture supported their empowerment. The findings also reveal a positive relationship between the degree of empowerment experienced by the women and their successful resolution through the eight psychosocial stages of development. The findings further indicate that the experience and definition of empowerment may be as diverse as women themselves. However, the consistent theme found for all of the women in this study was that the essence of empowerment is experienced as a form of inner strength. The conclusion of this study is that, whether one perceives empowerment to come from internal or external factors, from one's upbringing, one's culture, one's God, or one's spirit, the essence of empowerment is experienced as the freedom to be one's self, in all one's glory.Master of Science
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Kou, Aune Kajsa. "Women's Empowerment and Gender-based Violence in Post-Conflict Liberia." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-323541.
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Previous research on empowerment of women has tried to show a correlation between empowerment and a reduction of gender-based violence. Some studies confirm that correlation and it is argued that especially economic empowerment is key to such a correlation. However, the correlation based on economic empowerment is disputed, and some scholars argue that economic empowerment is not sufficient to tackle structural issues based on power inequalities, such as gender-based violence. This study will build on the latter argument in the debate of empowerment, and will use the case of post-conflict Liberia to support this discussion. In post-conflict Liberia, significant efforts to empower women have been made and yet, high levels of gender-based violence remain. By examining two official policy documents directed toward reduction of gender-based violence and enhancement of women’s empowerment, this thesis concludes that there is a lack of recognition of gender relations structured around an unequal distribution of power, in the two documents. The study will therefore end with the argument that in order to create empowerment of women that reduce issues such as gender-based violence, strategies to enhance women’s empowerment need to account for gender relations based on power dynamics.
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Poole, Megan Shaffner Carleton University Dissertation Psychology. "The role of power in regard to women's sexual empowerment." Ottawa, 1995.
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Jolosheva, Aida A. 1984. "Entrepreneurship and Microfinance: Economic Development and Women's Empowerment in Kyrgyzstan." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/10650.
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xi, 105 p. : ill., maps. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.This thesis focuses on microfinance in Kyrgyzstan as a response to the initiation of economic, social and political reforms following Kyrgyzstan's independence in 1991. These reforms accelerated Kyrgyzstan's transition from a centrally-planned to a liberal market-based economy. Microfinance became a favored mechanism for encouraging individual entrepreneurship and thus economic development. Based on field research I conducted in Kyrgyzstan during the summer of 2009, this thesis examines the economic impact of these reforms on women entrepreneurs, as women were particularly vulnerable to the social fallout from such reforms. Through participatory observation, small focus groups and semi-structured interviews, I analyze myriad aspects of the lives of women entrepreneurs who have participated in a microfinance project. I argue that microfinance provides an empowering, sustainable path for them. However, the historical occupational divisions encouraged by the Soviet Union affect how people use microcredit. I conclude with suggestions on improving microfinance practices in Kyrgyzstan.
Committee in Charge: Dr. Anita M. Weiss, Chair; Dr. Laura Leete; Dr. Shankha Chakraborty
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Weinstein, Flore Saint Louis. "Women's Empowerment as a Policy for Poverty Reduction in Haiti." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7092.
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Women represent more than 50% of the population of Haiti and embody the poorest group due to their lack of socioeconomic development. Numerous nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) including diaspora NGOs (DINGOs) have engaged in the fight to reduce poverty in Haiti by enabling empowerment programs to help women become self-reliant. The programs appear to be ineffective because the level of poverty remains high and there has been little research on the relative effectiveness and sustainability of the programs implemented by the DINGOs. Using the feminist theories of DeBeauvoir and Friedan in conjunction with the empowerment theory of AlMaseb and Julia as the foundation, the purpose of this research was to assess the role of DINGOs in empowering Haitian women and to determine the effectiveness and sustainability of their programs. Research questions focused on the perception of participants of the notion of empowerment and strategies implemented by DINGOs. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 17 participants utilizing e-mail interviews. Interview data were coded using Rubin and Rubin's seven steps for analysis of responsive interviews. Findings indicated that (a) all participants shared similar views that the empowerment of Haitian women is a winning strategy for poverty reduction; (b) Participants believe that DINGOs' programs are effective, but they lack government involvement, partnerships with larger NGOs, and necessary resources to remain sustainable. Implications for social change include using the findings to inform policy creation and implementation of more women-friendly empowerment strategies capable of reducing the level of poverty in Haiti. Policy makers, the country, and Haitian women would benefit from the reduced poverty.
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Darnell, Melissa Liberty. "Rethinking empowerment: Collective action as intervention with women." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2008. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/3401.
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This study explores women's feelings of empowerment that result from participating in collective action events. The study contributes to the growing body of social work scholarship on empowerment practice by identifying and describing the specific variables that may contribute to or enhance empowerment feelings in women as a result of collective action participation.
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Day, Marilyn A. "The empowerment of women : a study of women's participation in training programs in Manitoba." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.364396.
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David, Amber. "Economic Empowerment for All: An Examination of Women's Experiences and Perceptions of Economic Empowerment in Maha Sarakham, Thailand." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491227878475008.
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Parry, Karen Deborah. "Tales of being and knowing : women's stories of identity, subjectivity and research." Thesis, Northumbria University, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.391088.
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Ahalt, Cyrus. "The effects of community radio on women's empowerment in rural Liberia." Connect to Electronic Thesis (CONTENTdm), 2010. http://worldcat.org/oclc/644674190/viewonline.
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Pazioni-Kalli, A. "Spaces of resistance – places of transformative learning : women's metamorphosis and empowerment?" Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.660473.
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The research reported on here is an investigation of the relations of Transformative Learning and Transformative Spaces. It is an interdisciplinary study aimed at exploring the interplay between space, culture, memory and identity in learning. In particular, it seeks a) to understand how our individual and social identities are determined by space and movement within/in-between/across/beyond space(s), and b) to establish a dialogic formation between and among concepts of social, spatial, gendered learning environments and their interaction with time in the production of collective action, democracy, and freedom. In this respect, its aims are to contribute to understandings of different power relations that influence knowledge construction, and about what can be learnt when people struggle for a more equitable society. In so doing, it draws from a very broad array of theorists but also from empirical investigation conducted in two ways: a) through a case study of a particular place (Greece), focusing on a social (political) movement emerged in the years of Greece’s military dictatorship, 1967-1974 and b) through a life history/biographical narrative study of four particular (Greek) women. The dissertation will bring to the fore a cultural analysis of the emergence of the movement as well as of the construction of gender identities within and beyond that movement. It will challenge views that seek only structural exegeses of social phenomena and relations by arguing that a social phenomenon cannot be analysed detached from the space and time that brought it about, thus pointing out the importance of context, in addition to aspirations, emotions, contradictory feelings and imagination in the processes associate with the concept of transformative learning.
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Bordon, Arcelia MartiÌnez. "Education as a route for young women's empowerment in rural Mexico." Thesis, University of York, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.415179.
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Sadania, Clémentine. "Women's empowerment in a developing world : three essays on Egyptian households." Thesis, Aix-Marseille, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018AIXM0166/document.
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En quête d’une croissance inclusive, l’émancipation des femmes occupe une place croissante dans les programmes de développement. Cette thèse explore les déterminants et les conséquences d’une dimension de ce concept, leur capacité à prendre part aux décisions du ménage. Le chapitre 1 offre une revue critique de la littérature associée à ce concept. Les chapitres suivants présentent des analyses empiriques sur l’Egypte apportant de nouveaux éclairages dans un contexte rarement étudié. Le chapitre 1 pose une réflexion sur le concept d’étude et sa mesure. Il identifie les moyens d’actions aux mains des individus et décideurs publics, les limitations de la littérature existante et des voies de recherche futures. Le chapitre 2 revisite la relation entre le travail des femmes et leur pouvoir de décision en Egypte, en considérant á la fois l’endogénéité et l’hétérogénéité du travail. Cette étude montre que le travail extérieur a le plus grand impact. Néanmoins, le travail à la maison permet d’augmenter les prises de décisions jointes sur des investissements majeurs. Le chapitre 3 informe sur un canal encore inexploré: le rôle du pouvoir de décision de la mère dans la transmission de chocs à l’allocation du temps des enfants. Nous trouvons qu’un choc positif sur le marché du travail du père réduit le travail domestique des filles seulement lorsque le pouvoir de décision de la mère est élevé. Le chapitre 4 explore les conséquences de la migration des hommes sur le marché du mariage du pays d’origine. Les résultats sont consistants avec une détérioration de la position relative des femmes sur le marché du mariage durant les périodes de forte migrationWomen’s empowerment increasingly appears in the headlines of development programs, in the pursuit of inclusive growth. This dissertation explores the determinants and consequences of one dimension of women’s empowerment, women’s ability to make choices within the household. Chapter 1 offers a critical review of the related literature. The chapters which follow consist of empirical analyses on Egypt and shed new lights on a understudied setting. Chapter 1 is a discussion of the concept under study and its measurement. It identifies means of actions available to individuals and policy-makers, limitations of the existing literature and future research avenues. Chapter 2 revisits the relationship between women’s work and employment in Egypt, by addressing jointly the endogeneity and the heterogeneity of types of economic activities. The study shows that outside work has the greatest impact on women’s participation in household decisions. Nevertheless, home-based work is able to increase joint decision-making on major investment decisions. Chapter 3 provides evidence on an unexplored channel: the role of the mother’s empowerment in the transmission of shocks on youths’ time allocation. We find that a positive shock on the father’s labor market reduces daughters’ participation in domestic work only when the mother has a high level of bargaining power. Chapter 4 explores how gender unbalanced migration affects the marriage market of the sending country. Results are consistent with a deterioration of women’s relative position in the marriage market during high migration periods
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Gram, L. Z. "Women's empowerment in a complex public health intervention in rural Nepal." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2018. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10043724/.
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This thesis presents a study of women’s empowerment in Nepal, a low-income country in South Asia with significant gender inequities across multiple dimensions. The thesis took place in the context of a cluster randomized controlled trial called the Low Birth Weight, South Asia Trial (LBW-SAT), which compared the impact of participatory women’s groups either alone or in combination with food or cash transfers on low birth weight. The thesis sought to understand the impacts of participatory women’s groups on women’s empowerment, as well as the role of agency in enabling or obstructing women’s use of cash transfers. First, a scale for measuring women’s agency freedom Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory [1] was validated and adapted for use in the local context. Second, the adapted tool was applied to evaluate the impact of LBW-SAT on women’s agency freedom. The results showed little evidence for an impact on women’s empowerment across a range of measures, except an improvement in women’s agency in group participation (p < 0.01). Third, a grounded theory study was conducted on women’s financial agency in the household. The results showed that daughters-in-law had severely restricted access to cash, while their mothers-in-law were recipients of household income and managers of savings, loans and expenditures. Fourth, results from the same grounded theory study showed that LBW-SAT trial staff put considerable pressure on beneficiary families to avoid non-recommended uses of their cash transfers. Thus, while daughters-in-law were often allowed to spend the cash transfer on food by their family members, daughters-in-law may have feared angering LBW-SAT staff if they spent the cash transfer on non-food items. Future researchers and policy-makers need to better integrate economic and gender considerations into health programming to achieve empowerment objectives.
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Saad, Sadat Aman. "“Accountability and women's empowerment: a case of Microfinance and Grameen Bank”." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Företagsekonomi, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-183257.
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Microfinance is the small-scale provision of financial services to poor people, particularly to women. Over the last four decades, the World Bankhas promoted microfinance as a key tool for addressing poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment (Weber, 2016). Hence a key question here is this –why do microfinance organisations so specifically target women? A crucial reason is to address concepts of gender inequality and hence addressing women’s empowerment as an issue. Drawing on Tanima (2015), thisstudy uses Mayoux’s concept of competing ideological orientation of –financial sustainability, poverty alleviation and feminist empowerment –to bringattention to the issue of accountability of NGOs towards poverty stricken women. As Tanima observes, mainstream accounting has focused mostly on shareholder value, performance matrices and benchmarking and wealth maximisation (Tanima et al., 2020). Accordingly, the issue of accountability towards marginalised perspectives in the NGO and microfinance context has received minimal attention (Alawattage et al., 2019, Tanima et al., 2020). Thisstudy focuses on addressing this gap, through a key question:how do microfinance organisations address accountability towards the primary beneficiaries of microfinance –the poor class women (Jacobs et al., 2012)?Through illumination of the Grameen Bank model (a highly regarded bank), and interviews with two microfinanciers in Bangladesh, the study finds that while from a philosophical point of view microfinance has a strong empowerment angle for women, the realities surrounding this tell a different story. The study reveals the critical aspects of microfinance –for example, regarding why women are targeted, how they are targeted, and what kinds of realities it underpins them in. The question of accountability and participation is important here –how do microfinance organisations hold themselves accountable to women? The account provided here illuminates that the problem with the microfinance model is that it predominantly focuses on repayment rates as a way of measuring success, and ultimately women’s empowerment. This study argues to bring changes within this landscape