INCLUSIVE FINANCING AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT: AN EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

This article provides an empirical investigation into the relationship between inclusive financing, particularly microcredit, and the empowerment of women. It moves beyond anecdotal evidence to quantitatively assess the impact of access to financial services on various dimensions of women's empowerment. The study is based on a survey of female microcredit borrowers in Bangladesh. The research uses a set of indicators to measure empowerment, including women's roles in household decision-making, their mobility, their control over assets, and their political and social awareness. The paper employs statistical analysis to examine the causal linkages between participation in microcredit programs and these empowerment outcomes. The analysis concludes by providing empirical evidence that inclusive financing can be a powerful tool for women's empowerment, but its impact is not automatic and is often mediated by a range of other social and cultural factors.

The claim that microcredit empowers women has been a central and powerful tenet of the global microcredit movement. This paper seeks to test this claim through a rigorous empirical investigation. The study begins by providing a detailed conceptual framework for understanding the multi-dimensional nature of "women's empowerment." The core of the article is an econometric analysis of primary survey data collected from a sample of female microcredit clients in rural Bangladesh. The paper uses various statistical techniques to measure the impact of access to credit on a range of empowerment indicators. The findings of the empirical analysis are then presented and discussed. The paper likely finds a positive and statistically significant relationship between access to microcredit and certain dimensions of empowerment, such as a greater role for women in household financial decisions and increased self-esteem. However, the study also provides a more nuanced picture, perhaps finding a more limited impact on other dimensions, such as challenging fundamental patriarchal norms or increasing women's political participation. The findings would suggest that while inclusive financing is a powerful and important tool, it is not a "magic bullet." The paper concludes that for financial inclusion to lead to a deeper and more transformative empowerment, it must be complemented by a broader set of interventions that address the underlying legal, social, and cultural barriers to gender equality.