Corporate social responsibility and women's empowerment: evidence from India

The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent of the inclusion of women in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts in the Indian context under the framework of women empowerment and gender equality. The paper problematises the concept of the term women empowerment as understood and promoted by companies under their CSR strategy. The study is qualitative in nature, based on the CSR foundations of two pharmaceutical companies. The data has been collected from four locations - Bharatpur (Rajasthan), Goa, Kanpur Dehat (Uttar Pradesh), and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh). Although the foundations claim to contribute to women empowerment and gender equality through their CSR policies, the paper finds that the CSR activities implemented by these foundations are not contributing to women empowerment in its entirety. Instead, it is reinforcing the stereotypical roles of women by retaining them in particular kinds of professions and roles. The paper looks at the CSR activities from the viewpoint of women, providing us with a new vantage point to understand CSR policies. It explores aspects which otherwise remain hidden and tend to be overlooked.