This book investigates the deep linkages between gender and grassroots politics. It studies how women candidates in Bangladesh are elected in reserved seats in the local government bodies and explores the challenges that they face both from within the domestic unit and from the government administration. The book focuses on grassroots-level governance and provides a comparative study between selected rural and urban local government institutions in different socio-economic, educational, and cultural contexts. It documents loopholes in the system of quota seats for women, allocation of electoral constituency, and elected representatives’ rights and responsibilities. It also studies the life-changing impact of women at different levels of governance and society and offers important policy implications for furthering their participation and empowerment. A major intervention in the study of Bangladesh and its politics, this key text will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of political science, public administration, gender studies, public policy, and South Asian studies.

This book examines the effects of policies and practices of microfinance NGOs in empowering rural women in Bangladesh. Nawaz seeks to unpack the untold narratives of women's empowerment and to fill the current knowledge gap in this area. The book goes beyond the narrow minimalist evaluation of microfinance that only focuses on women’s economic empowerment through their ability to access financial resources. Rather, it looks at whether and how microfinance empowers women in a holistic manner across the socio-cultural, psychological and political spheres of life. The author argues that microfinance reduces levels of poverty, which means that women are better able to meet their practical gender needs; however, they are not empowered unless they are also able to meet their strategic gender needs, including the transformation of gender power relations from the household to state arenas. Therefore, the book argues that in order to bring about higher levels of empowerment, microfinance programs must be combined with other services such as financial literacy, socioeconomic training, education, healthcare, social mobilization and legal support. Microfinance and Women’s Empowerment in Bangladesh will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines, including Gender Studies, Development Studies, and Politics.

Women Self-Help Groups Are Increasingly Being Used As Tool For Various Developmental Interventions. Credit And Its Delivery Through Self-Help Groups Have Also Been Taken As A Means For Empowerment Of Rural Women.This Integrated Approach, Whereby, Credit Is Only An Entry Point, And An Instrument To Operationalise Other Aspects Of Group Dynamics And Management, Also Caters To The Need For Social Intermediation Of These Groups. A Self-Help Group Is Conceived As A Sustainable People S Institution That Provides The Poor Rural Women With Space And Support Necessary For Them To Take Effective Steps Towards Achieving Greater Control Of Their Lives.It Is With This Perspective That This Book Has Been Attempted.This Work Seeks To Elucidate And Simplify The Approach To Women S Empowerment Through Credit-Based Self-Help Groups, By Both Providing The Theoretical Perspective As Well As Practical Guidance And Tips To Operationalise The Same. This Book Is Meant Primarily As A First Level Reader For Middle Level Functionaries In The Development Sector.

Based on the author's dissertation and field studies carried out in 2003 in three villages in Mymensingh district. Assesses the perceived status of rural women and gender division of labour at household level. Analyses the nature of rural women's empowerment and factors influencing it, and develops a strategic framework for promoting the status of rural women.

Empowering Women Through Microfinance in Developing Countries is a book that explores how microfinance can be used to empower women in developing countries. It provides theoretical and empirical insights from industry experts, experienced researchers, and policymakers on the problems, processes, and prospects of using microfinance as a catalyst for women's empowerment in the developing world. The book covers a range of topics, including the impact of microfinance interventions on women's empowerment, financial inclusion, and women's entrepreneurship, poverty reduction among women, and small and medium-sized enterprise growth. This book addresses the lack of understanding about how microfinance can be used to empower women in developing countries. The insights provided in this book will be valuable for researchers, students, microfinance institutions, policymakers, state institutions, managers, non-governmental organizations, and financial institutions looking to expand their product portfolio and outreach. The book also provides policy directions and rethinking of practice in using microfinance as a strategy for eliminating barriers to women's empowerment in developing countries.

Women living in rural regions today still often struggle to harness the full potential of mobile internet for their economic empowerment, despite a rapidly evolving digital landscape. This limitation hinders their ability to engage in online selling, job searching, and accessing public services, thereby constraining potential economic opportunities. The powerful research book, Empowering and Advancing Women Leaders and Entrepreneurs, presents a comprehensive analysis of the impact of mobile internet on gender-inclusive economic empowerment, offering innovative solutions to enhance rural entrepreneur’s digital skills and knowledge. The underrepresentation of women in leadership roles globally must be addressed to advance gender equity. This book examines the systemic barriers, including stereotypes and biases, that impede women's advancement in leadership positions. By proposing coordinated solutions involving corporations, governments, and civil society, such as allyship building and policy reforms, the book aims to reduce gender gaps in leadership and foster a more inclusive society. Through its insightful analysis and practical recommendations, this book is a valuable resource for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to promote gender equality and inclusive development, and underscores the necessity of their roles for this initiative.

This book investigates the barriers to women’s economic empowerment in the Global South. Drawing on evidence from a wide range of countries, the book outlines important lessons and practical solutions for promoting gender equality. Despite global progress in closing gender gaps in education and health, women’s economic empowerment has lagged behind, with little evidence that economic growth promotes gender equality. International Development Research Centre’s (IDRC) Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) programme was set up to provide policy lessons, insights, and concrete solutions that could lead to advances in gender equality, particularly on the role of institutions and macroeconomic growth, barriers to labour market access for women, and the impact of women’s care responsibilities. This book showcases rigorous and multi-disciplinary research emerging from this ground-breaking programme, covering topics such as the school-to-work transition, child marriage, unpaid domestic work and childcare, labour market segregation, and the power of social and cultural norms that prevent women from fully participating in better paid sectors of the economy. With a range of rich case studies from Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Uganda, this book is perfect for students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working on women’s economic empowerment and gender equality in the Global South.

This book unravels the juggernaut of academic and civil society perspectives and issues relating to women's empowerment. Drawing upon contributions from serving and retired academics with substantial experience of NGO-run women's care and justice activities, it seeks to generate new ideas and insights on the problematic of a knowledge enterprise involving several hugely intractable entitlements and violations South Asian women have experienced in historical and contemporary times. The book aims to generate substantial intellectual resources for yet another stimulating churning of interest and enthusiasm among policy makers, academics, social activists, development functionaries, students and inclined laypersons concerned with women's studies in general and the multifaceted ordeal of women's empowerment in particular.

Contributed papers and proceedings of Workshop on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment held at Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 6th, 2003 organized by News Network; supported by World Bank, on rights of Bangladeshi women, reservation of seats for them in parliament, and on policies for their social empowerment.

In Bangladesh, IFPRI has received support from USAID through its Policy Research and Strategy Support Program in Bangladesh (PRSSP) to work in the geographic areas targeted by Feed the Future interventions (known as the Zone of Influence) to construct this new WEAI4VC module. The qualitative research study, conducted by IFPRI field officers, complements a 1,200 household quantitative survey, looking in greater depth at the individual, household, and community level experiences of men and women to understand the consequences of value chain participation on them as producers, entrepreneurs, and wage workers on women’s empowerment. The quantitative study sampled 400 households for each of the three economic activities of interest – (1) agricultural production, (2) agricultural entrepreneurship, and (3) agriculture sector employment. It was carried out in ten administrative units (upazilas or sub-districts), and five villages in each upazila to total 50 villages.