Towards sustainable development: financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment in India
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relationship between financial inclusion and economic empowerment of women, recognising that empowering women is not just an issue of equity and fairness but also an essential prerequisite for achieving sustainable development.
Design/methodology/approach
This research used a survey method to gather data from the female population in northern India. The quantitative analysis was conducted using structural equation modelling with Smart PLS 4 software, based on the theoretical framework of economic empowerment theory.
Findings
The results demonstrated a notable association between financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment. The presence of active participation in financial services appears to contribute significantly to variations in women’s earnings, savings and accumulation of assets.
Originality/value
This study contributes to guiding development agencies and policymakers by highlighting the importance of expanding financial services tailored to women and advocating inclusive banking.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors deeply acknowledge and appreciate the invaluable contributions of the respondents who participated in this study.
Funding: No funding was received.
Disclosure statement: No potential conflict of interest.
Informed consent was obtained from the participants in this study.
Data availability: The authors hereby declare that the data supporting this study are available to the author and will be provided upon reasonable request for research purposes.
Author contribution: Mohsin Showkat: Conception, design, drafting-, data collection and interpretation of the manuscript; Razia Nagina: Conception, design and Review of the manuscript; and Usha Nori: Design and Review of the manuscript.
The authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Citation
Showkat, M., Nagina, R. and Nori, U. (2024), "Towards sustainable development: financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment in India", Gender in Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-05-2024-0229
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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