Using cross-sectional data from 2015, Kumar et al. (2019) looked into the potential for women’s SHGs to improve access to and use of public entitlement schemes in India. They found that while SHGs do not increase awareness of these schemes, SHG members are significantly more likely to make use of them. SHG members were also found to be more politically active than non-members.
Read MoreEvidence to date shows that women in SHGs are twice as likely to participate in local politics than women not in SHGs. Ongoing long term research evaluation is seeking to understand the indirect consequences of SHGs on women’s political behavior.
Read MoreIn 2005, the Government of Tamil Nadu launched its Pudhu Vaazhvu Project (PVP) in 2,300 village panchayats throughout the state. PVP used SHGs to reduce economic vulnerability and increase women’s agency and empowerment. In this study, Parthasarathy et al. (2017) used text-as-data methods to determine whether PVP induced women’s participation within village assemblies (gram sabha) and concluded that the project did in fact increase women’s attendance, propensity to speak and length of floor time.
Read MoreDas et al. (2016) evaluated the effect SHG membership had on women’s political engagement in Indian village assemblies. They found that SHG membership in 17 major states was positively and strongly associated with increased attendance in village assemblies.
Read MoreSanyal et al. (2015) qualitatively evaluated four villages participating in the JEEViKA program in Bihar, India to answer the question: how do large-scale development interventions induce cultural change? A key component of JEEViKA is the formation of SHGs and it was found that this intervention successfully challenged gender norms in a relatively short period of time.
Read MoreCasini et al. (2015) examined the social behavior of PRADAN’s SHGs and how it influenced the governance of rural Indian communities. As women join SHGs they tend to participate more frequently in collective actions, usually after about three years of weekly meetings. In Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts in Odisha, these collective actions did have a significant impact on local government officials and the issues they focused on.
Read MoreThe Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in Rajasthan, India was evaluated to determine the effect of SHG membership on the autonomy of household decision making, political engagement and on inclusion in financial and labor markets. The study concluded that SEWA membership led to greater participation in group programs, increased control over domestic decision-making, greater awareness of where to express grievances (especially in regards to drinking water), willingness to take action on grievances and thus increased satisfaction with state of services.
Read MoreLopamudra and Suresh (2012)’s community based qualitative study found that SHGs played an important role in women’s empowerment in rural Pondicherry, India. In Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) for six SHGs, members reported a number of benefits.
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