Although women constitute half of world’s population yet they are the largest group which is excluded from the benefits of social and economic development. Women constitute a strong labour force which needs to be mobilised and encouraged to make an effective contribution to the development process. In India, the work participation rate of women is less than half that of men. Despite efforts made towards economic empowerment of women, majority of the active female population continues to be confined to micro, small-scale enterprises and the informal sector. The Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002) adopted the strategy of Women’s Component Plan under which not less than 30 per cent of funds/benefits were earmarked for all the women-related sectors and women-specific programmes. The Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-07) also undertook steps to further strengthen the policy of Women’s Component Plan. The working group on empowerment of women for the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12), constituted by the Planning Commission in 2006, has emphasised the strengthening of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and community-based organisations for the empowerment of women. Special attention needs to be given to increasing employment opportunities and productive resources of women through special financial intermediaries, building women’s competitiveness and increasing economic exchanges among women entrepreneurs. This book is a small contribution to this great awakening. It consists of 33 papers authored by scholars working in the area of economic empowerment of women. This work, which is replete with new concepts and practices, will appeal to all categories of readers, particularly academicians, researchers, legislators, government officials and non-governmental organisations engaged in ameliorating the socio economic conditions of half of the human race.
There are no reviews yet.