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Women's Empowerment: Power to Act or Power over Other Women? Lessons from Indian Microfinance

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  • Isabelle Gu�rin
  • Santhosh Kumar
  • Isabelle Agier

Abstract

In the microfinance industry, "empowerment" is often described as a means to facilitate female emancipation from male domination. This paper draws on women's testimonies to highlight the fundamental importance of women's relationships with one another in this process. Women continuously negotiate a position between their kinship groups and neighbours, in a context where dependence on men is considered natural. Micro-credit uses are shaped by, and embody, relationships between women, including power relationships. We recommend revising current understandings of female agency to take into account the complex relationship between agency and power and challenge the conventional polarity of power as domination (power over) and power as agency (power to). In many cases, even where there is solidarity between women, women having agency require or imply domination over other women.

Suggested Citation

  • Isabelle Gu�rin & Santhosh Kumar & Isabelle Agier, 2013. "Women's Empowerment: Power to Act or Power over Other Women? Lessons from Indian Microfinance," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(sup1), pages 76-94, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:oxdevs:v:41:y:2013:i:sup1:p:s76-s94
    DOI: 10.1080/13600818.2013.781147
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    1. Pitt, M.M. & Khandker, S.R., 1996. "Household and Intrahousehold Impact of the Grameen Bank and Similar Targeted Credit Programs in Bangladesh," World Bank - Discussion Papers 320, World Bank.
    2. Agier, Isabelle & Szafarz, Ariane, 2013. "Microfinance and Gender: Is There a Glass Ceiling on Loan Size?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 165-181.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rao, Nitya, 2017. "Assets, Agency and Legitimacy: Towards a Relational Understanding of Gender Equality Policy and Practice," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 43-54.
    2. Rodriguez, Zachary, 2022. "The power of employment: Effects of India’s employment guarantee on women empowerment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    3. Supriya Garikipati & Susan Johnson & Isabelle Guérin & Ariane Szafarz, 2017. "Microfinance and Gender: Issues, Challenges and The Road Ahead," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(5), pages 641-648, May.
    4. Rodrigo de O. Leite & Jamil Civitarese, 2019. "Microfinance for women: Are there economic reasons? Evidence from Latin America," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(1), pages 571-580.
    5. Saha, Bibhas & Sangwan, Navjot, 2019. "Credit where credit's due: The enabling effects of empowerment in Indian microfinance," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 537-551.
    6. Isabelle Guérin, 2017. "Du pouvoir, de l’argent et de l’amour ! Les ressorts cachés de l’ empowerment," Post-Print ird-01740274, HAL.
    7. Katarzyna Cieslik & Marek Hudon & Philip Verwimp, 2019. "Unruly entrepreneurs–investigating value creation by microfinance clients in rural Burundi," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/287266, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    8. Varsha P. S. & Gayathri Reddy K. & Sudheendra Rao L. N. & Amit Kumar, 2019. "Impact of self-help groups, capacity building measures and perceived tension on women empowerment- an empirical study," Asian Journal of Empirical Research, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 9(3), pages 65-87, March.
    9. Joana Silva Afonso, 2020. "Impact evaluation, social performance assessment and standardisation: reflections from microfinance evaluations in Pakistan and Zimbabwe," Working Papers in Economics & Finance 2020-14, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Business School, Economics and Finance Subject Group.
    10. Ranjula Bali Swain & Supriya Garikipati, 2019. "Microfinance in the Global South: Examining Evidence on Social Efficacy," Working Papers 201908, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.
    11. Sisir Debnath, 2015. "The Impact of Household Structure on Female Autonomy in Developing Countries," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(5), pages 485-502, May.
    12. Blanco-Oliver, Antonio & Irimia-Dieguez, Ana & Reguera-Alvarado, Nuria, 2016. "Prediction-oriented PLS path modeling in microfinance research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4643-4649.
    13. Woodson, Thomas & Alcantara, Julia Torres & do Nascimento, Milena Silva, 2019. "Is 3D printing an inclusive innovation?: An examination of 3D printing in Brazil," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 80, pages 54-62.
    14. Olga Gorelkina & Ioanna Grypari & Erin Hengel, 2019. "One strike and you’re out! The Master Lever’s effect on senatorial policy-making," Working Papers 201906, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.
    15. Sandrine Michel & Holimalala Randriamanampisoa, 2017. "The capability approach as a framework for assessing the role of microcredit in resource conversion: the case of rural households in the Madagascar highlands," Post-Print hal-01681797, HAL.
    16. Supriya Garikipati & Rebecca J. Docherty & Penelope A. Phillips-Howard, 2019. "What’s the bleeding problem? Policy and attitudes towards sustainable menstrual hygiene materials in India," Working Papers 201907, University of Liverpool, Department of Economics.

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