Determinants of Women's Empowerment: An Empirical Inquiry.

Abstract

This work is an unbiased understanding of underlying characteristics of empowerment, scientifically gathered and without any feminist nuances. Social status of women has had its crests and falls all along Indian history. The main focus of the present study is on the fact that, in spite of the revolution in the number of working women, many are blocked in their attempts to gain access to higher occupational positions.The sample comprised of 30 women administrators, entrepreneurs and professionals, from various walks of life having reached a significant milestone in their life from an organizational point of view, in the Indian national scenario. These were selected on the basis of empowering behaviour exhibited by them. A qualitative method of research was implemented to have a basic understanding of the underlying factors and to establish an insight into their interplay. Along with this, a documentary analysis was undertaken to determine the domains. Based on the three categories three separate role models were proposed in the beginning, but noncompliance on tests of significance rendered only one role model to be developed. This study is just the beginning; from here the road map of success for the working women can be drawn. As empowerment is a continuous process, that needs to be designed and articulated for every individual.