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This study examines the crucial role played by women in fighting climate change crises and underscores the urgent need for their empowerment. Recognizing the complex challenges faced by women, including health risks, violence, displacement, and limited access to resources, the study delves into the underlying systemic factors intensifying their vulnerability. While adopting Radical Feminism theory as a lens, we acknowledge the importance of considering intersecting factors such as race, class, and geography in understanding women's experiences. Drawing from a comprehensive analysis of secondary sources, the study explores the ways in which women, despite their vulnerability, emerge as key agents of adaptation and resilience. Through their traditional roles in resource management and caregiving, women often lead efforts to mitigate environmental degradation and develop adaptive strategies in the aftermath of crises. Notably, our findings highlight the relationship between female leadership and effective crisis response, as evidenced by the instantaneous and decisive actions taken by states led by women during the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of these insights, the study proposes plausible recommendations for empowering women in the face of climate change crises. These include the establishment of gender-sensitive projects, support for women in green economies, and the promotion of women's participation in decision-making processes. Moreover, the study emphasizes the importance of integrating gender considerations into resilience-building efforts and increasing funding for initiatives addressing gender-specific vulnerabilities. By amplifying the centrality of women in climate change solutions and advocating for their empowerment, the study aims to foster greater resilience in the face of environmental challenges.

Does microfinance help in women empowerment? Does women empowerment result in higher recovery rate of loans and better utilization of borrowed money in further income generating activities? We conducted primary survey on 130 women belonging to different socio economic background residing at Medinipur and South 24 Parganas of West Bengal, India. Our study suggests that access to microfinance through self help groups leads to women empowerment which in turn lead to successful recovery of loans and utilization of borrowed money.

Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS) are financial cooperatives that aim to meet the financial needs of different population segments, including women, men, or other specified categories. The primary role of these financial institutions is to improve the socio-economic development of their registered members and the community at large. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of SACCOS on women's financial accessibility, specifically focusing on those working with the Cooperative Rural Development Bank (CRDB) in Dar es Salaam. The research was grounded in Agency Theory and Stakeholder Theory. A descriptive research design was employed, and quantitative analysis was performed. A sample of 80 respondents was randomly selected from a population of 1,700 members of the CRDB workers’ SACCOs. The study utilized observation, surveys, and questionnaires. Secondary data sources included newspapers, journal articles, books, SACCO manuals, and authoritative internet sources. Simple descriptive methods were used to present the study's results, while percentages were used to highlight numerical patterns. Quantitative data was analyzed using Excel. The results showed that over 77% of SACCO's female members experienced better socio-economic conditions compared to non-members. The study recognized that quick access to finance through SACCO services significantly improved the standard of living, particularly for women. Although these women work with the bank, SACCO services have enabled them to access more finance than they would typically qualify for through the bank. However, SACCOs face several constraints, including poor management, lack of training opportunities for members, high-interest rates, and societal perceptions of women (segregation). These factors have presented challenges to the performance of SACCOs. The study recommends that members receive training on how to improve the performance of SACCOs to better leverage the services provided. In gener

Andalusia, located in southern Spain, has a long coastline and a rich history of fishing activities that encompass extraction, industrialization, and commercialization. However, women have traditionally been underrepresented in various stages of the fishing chain in this region. Despite this, women have made significant contributions to the sustainability and social well-being of fishing households through their involvement in diverse fishing-related tasks. Women in Andalusia have taken on diverse roles in the fishing sector, including administration and support tasks for fishing units, as well as responsibilities related to care and maintenance of domestic services. In 2018, the Andalusian Association of Women in the Fishing Sector (ANDMUPES) was launched with the aim of promoting the effective incorporation of women in different tasks. The study conducted an in-depth questionnaire across 25 ports in Andalusia to gather comprehensive data on the labor situation of women in the fishing sector, as well as to expose the picture of ideological factors and socio-economic conditions that are hindering the access of women to the fishing sector. The study aims to highlight the role of women in the fishing sector and their potential contributions to the innovation, transformation, and sustainability of small-scale fishing.

Gender equality is rooted in the capacity of individuals to independently make decisions regarding their social, political, and economic well-being. Unfortunately, women encounter diminished opportunities for engagement in these spheres, particularly evident in developing economies. UN-SDGs has placed gender equality as a 5th goal in the framework. This study aims to elucidate pathways for women empowerment by investigating the moderating influence of governance within the realm of financial inclusion. Panel data analysis has been employed for 30 developing economies for the time of 2004 to 2020.Data sources are World Development Indicators (WDI) and the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG). The labor force participation rate (LFPRF) was employed as a proxy for women empowerment and is treated as dependent variable. Governance and Financial Inclusion were examined as independent variables, with domestic credit to the private sector (DC) representing financial inclusion and governance stability (GS) acting as a proxy for governance. Gross capital formation (GCF) and gross domestic product per capita (GDPPC) were included as control variables. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), FE, and RE regression models were considered appropriate after applying pre diagnostic tests. The study also employed Arellano Bond model for robustness. The Results indicated that 1 % increase in DC increased LFPRF by 1.05%,16%, and 0.16% in OLS, FE, RE respectively. Similarly, 1 % increase in GS increases LFPRF by 2.49% in OLS model and by 0.13% in both FE and RE model. The study also discussed the strategies to promote women empowerment through planned interventions in financial inclusion and governance.

Women empowerment is crucial for the progress of a society and a state. In this paper the district Buner’s women vulnerable position is addressed in order to produce literature which can boost awareness in the society so that women can be emancipated. Since the inception, on the pretexts of religion and culture the women have been sieged in their homes which is against the very rights of human. In this regard, it is opted to utilize both the primary and secondary data under qualitative and quantitative methodologies in order to explain it effectively. As a results, the people have been using both religion and culture to regulate women resource as per their wishes. Such issue can be addressed on the genuine efforts of the government and the civil society at all fronts by modernizing the views of the people regarding women’s rights.

Tausugs, one of the Muslim tribes in the Philippines, express themselves through their kalangan (songs). To explore the rich and vibrant colors of the Tausug culture, this qualitative research study employed a descriptive-analytic approach in the analysis and interpretation of thirty-one (31) Tausug Contemporary Kalangan. Through Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this study revealed and discussed the literary devices evident as a textual practice in the select kalangan; the social realities about Tausug women that were being communicated by these literary devices; and the perceptions of Tausug women about their social realities. The findings revealed that there was a total of five (5) literary devices evident as a textual practice in the select kalangan. These literary devices paved way to unveiling and explaining the social realities of Tausug women evident in the select kalangan. Despite the rich and colorful cultures of the Tausugs, the social realities of Tausug women prove that a social problem exists in the Tausug society hence must be addressed and resolved. This study proved to be an original contribution to feminist studies aimed at gaining liberation and empowerment for Tausug women.

Sustainable national development refers to present developments that are supposed to be devoid of negative consequences for future generations. Equal access to information, equal opportunities for men and women, women empowerment and girl child education are the catalysts for attaining sustainable national development. This paper examined the imperative of gender equality, women empowerment and the role of libraries in promoting gender equality and women empowerment for sustainable development in Nigeria. The paper noted that if all women get equal chance and freedom to make positive contributions to the development of their respective communities, there will be economic growth and informed citizens. The paper recommends that the Nigerian government should provide enabling environment for women to excel and contribute to nation building.  Libraries should be properly funded by both government and well-meaning Nigerians to enable them deliver effective services that will foster growth and national development.  &nbsp

India is progressing economically, but it needs to pay more attention to social and human development together with women empowerment. The economic contribution and empowerment of women are pertinent to strengthen female’s rights and enable them have control on their lives and influence the society. Sustainable development can be achieved through economic empowerment of women. Empowered women and gender equality lead in multiplying the development efforts. Under the SDG-5, India has stated that it will ensure women and girls contribute as equivalent partners to growth and development of the country by 2030. At the global level too, it has been observed that if women participate equally with men in the economic activity, the world will add $11 trillion in the annual 2025 GDP. Investing on education and skill enhancement through Vocation education and training. has been a pertinent issue for the Indian government for the last decade. The current paper identifies the constructs of women empowerment and observes the role of formal and informal training in female empowerment. In all 317 women participated in the study through two stage sample design involving area sampling followed by convenience sampling. The study identified five constructs of women empowerment Economic Empowerment, Family Health and Well Being, Civic Empowerment, Social Empowerment, Educational Empowerment through exploratory factor analysis confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis. Further, the mean scores of all the constructs of women empowerment for formally trained respondents were higher than informally trained respondents but no significant difference between women empowerment, constructs of formally and informally trained women observed in the study.

The major focus of this paper was to assess the impact of Microfinance in the development of micro and small enterprises owned by women. Microfinance plays a crucial role in socio-economic empowerment of women by promoting suitable conditions for them to move from positions of marginalization within households, to one of greater roles in decision-making at the community, national and international levels. Microfinance for women and the poor has received extensive recognition as a strategy for poverty reduction and for economic empowerment. Despite this, there is a clear lack of recorded data on the impact of micro-finance in the development of micro and small enterprises owned by women. Research design for this study was both qualitative and quantitative, which involved conducting focus group discussions and questionnaires as research instruments in order to collect qualitative and quantitative data respectively from a sample size of 60 with the use of convenient sampling. The qualitative data from these focus group discussions was analyzed using content-based analysis while the quantitative data will be analyzed using SPSS. The findings show that the most common services being provided by Vision Fund Malawi (VFM) are Microloans and Savings. It was found that services such microinsurance and trainings are not known by the majority of respondents particularly the non-VFM staff.

This study examines the effects of an exogenous change in family policy in Ethiopia on women empowerment and the allocation of resources toward child health. Empowerment is formalized as an unobserved latent variable based on a large set of questions pertaining to women's autonomy and decision-making power. Exploiting the time and regional variation in the implementation of the law, the study finds that early implementation of the reform increases women's access to information, literacy and education levels, and their assertiveness toward family planning and domestic violence. In addition, more decision power in the hands of women is found to have a positive impact on investments in the health and nutrition of children. The findings suggest that factors that do not enter the individual's preferences may affect outcomes for individuals and emphasize the role of intrahousehold heterogeneity. The results are robust to a battery of validity and specification checks.

Introduction: This study examined the lived experiences of Female Entrepreneurs in Lagos State, Nigeria, who transitioned from traditional corporate employment settings to venture into uncharted entrepreneurial territory. In their transition from employee to entrepreneur, this study identified the existence of glass ceiling in both phases. Considering the perception of a woman’s identity in the Nigerian patriarchal system, practical attention and analysis have not been given to their experiences as employees and entrepreneurs. Seven (7) Nigerian Female Entrepreneurs with established businesses in Lagos, Nigeria, participated in this study. Method: A qualitative research method that builds upon the philosophy of social constructivism was used to decipher the transition. Storytelling theory assisted the interviewees in expressing themselves freely and facilitated this research. Also, Schlossberg's Transition Theory was the foundational theoretical framework for this study. Result: The result of the study identified the inherent glass ceiling in their transition. Some peculiarities of the glass ceiling within Nigerian context include financing barriers, gender discrimination, a good support system, and limited female mentors. This was framed as the “second glass ceiling”. They discussed their coping mechanisms to overcome challenges and build successful businesses during transition. Conclusion: The conclusion demonstrates helpful modifications that can aid groups, organizations, academic institutions, and policymakers understand Nigerian women’s situation in corporate and business domains. Such understanding could promote equality of opportunity within society and organizations, eliminate entrepreneurship barriers, and aid their long-term retention of corporate or entrepreneurial engagement. In the long run, this will benefit the Nigerian economy, corporate organizations, female entrepreneurs in Nigeria, and their communities.

Workplace sexual harassment of women is an imperative aspect and one of the most challenging impediments in the process of gender equality and women empowerment globally. Today’s women proved themselves through more productive roles and claimed equal collective rights along with better access to resources, acceptance, security, and self-respect in their families, communities, and workplaces. The increasing involvement of women in the workforce increases the incidents of sexual harassment at the workplace and become the largest hindrance towards women psycho-social and economic empowerment. To understand the actual situation this descriptive study was carried out with the female nursing staff in various public hospitals of Lahore. A structured self-administered questionnaire was utilized to collect primary data through multistage simple random sampling methods. Various univariate, bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were applied through SPSS-21 for comprehensive understanding and coherent discussion. The findings reveled that a huge proportion of the study population faces sexual harassment in the workplace. Male staff especially doctors and male nurses were found to be the most common perpetrators of sexual harassment against female nurses. The participants reported that sexual harassment in the workplace is a serious problem that significantly impacts the social, psychological, physical, and economic condition and productivity of female nurses.

Föreliggande studie avser att skapa en förståelse för begreppet kvinnors empowerment samt dess praktik i Kilimanjaro regionen i Tanzania. Studien syftar till att undersöka hur icke-statliga organisationer i regionen arbetar med kvinnors empowerment samt hur arbetet bidrar till en social hållbar utveckling. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med personal inom tre olika organisationer som arbetar med socialt arbete. Empirin har sedan analyserats, med hjälp av en tematisk analys, utifrån begreppen kvinnors empowerment, social hållbarhet, postkolonial feminism, västerländsk dominans och white saviourism. Studiens resultat påvisar att förståelsen av kvinnors empowerment grundar sig i att kvinnor ska återta egenmakten, att ojämlika maktförhållanden ska jämnas ut samt att stärkandet av kvinnor även leder till att samhället förändras och utvecklas. Vidare visar resultatet att kvinnors empowerment bidrar till en social hållbarhet eftersom arbetet grundar sig i kollektivismen inom lokalsamhällen. Ytterligare påvisar studiens resultat behovet av inhemska och lokala arbetsmetoder inom arbetet med kvinnors empowerment samt vikten av att frångå västerländska perspektiv inom det sociala arbetet i det globala syd. Genom att förlita sig på de inhemska och lokala arbetsmetoderna kan samtliga kvinnor inkluderas, eftersom dessa innefattar den etniska mångfalden., The present study intends to create an understanding of the concept of women's empowerment and its practice in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. This study aims to investigate how non-governmental organizations in the region work with women's empowerment and how the work contributes to social sustainability. The empirical material has been collected through six semi-structured interviews with staff from three different organizations within the social work field. The empirical work has then been analysed, using a thematic analysis, based on the concepts of women's empowerment, social sustainability, post-colonial feminism, Western dominance and white saviourism. The study's results demonstrate that the understanding of women's empowerment is based on women regaining their power, that unequal power relations must be equalized, and that women empowerment results in a changing and evolving society. Furthermore, given that the work is built on collectivism within local communities, the findings demonstrate that women's empowerment contributes to social sustainability. Additionally, the result demonstrates the need for indigenous and local methods within women's empowerment as well as the importance of breaking from Western perspectives. By relying on the indigenous and local methods, it may result in the inclusion of all women, since it takes ethnic diversity into account.

The goal of the study is to learn more about India's microfinance institutions' non-performing assets. non-performing assets of SHGs, women's SHGs, public sector banks, and private sector banks in relation to various microfinance programs and schemes, including Swarnim Rojgar Yojna. The ANNOVA approach has been used to test hypotheses. Conclusion: Private sector banks and cooperative banks are more effective at controlling non-performing assets (NPA) and keeping them at a minimum level than public sector banks. Furthermore, research shows that public sector banks perform better at supporting microfinance programs and providing financing for them than private sector banks or cooperative banks.

Family planning is essential for sustainable development, particularly for a lower middle income country like Pakistan, the fifth most densely inhabited country in the world. Women's empowerment leads to a dynamic role in family planning decisions. Based on the data of PDHS 2017-18 and by taking a sample of 12339 married women, this study aims to explore the connection between women empowerment and family planning decisions in Pakistan. A summative women empowerment index was calculated for the five dimensions (economic empowerment, financial inclusion, participation in decision making, self-esteem, and awareness status). Findings of binary logistics showed that women's empowerment (as an index) has a positive effect on the use of contraceptives. Every dimension of women's empowerment except her financial inclusion positively affects family planning decisions. Household wealth status increases the probability of using contraceptives. Due to regional disparities, contraceptive usage is shallow in Sindh, Balochistan, AJK, and FATA.

Purpose: Researchers, practitioners, government leaders, as well as other stakeholders keep expressing a great deal of interest mostly in the close connection between economic inclusion with women having entrepreneurship on a both national and international scale. Theoretical framework: The fundamental objective is still to increase women's access to finance so they can engage in entrepreneurship. The latest evidence exploring the connection between women's entrepreneurship as well as financial inclusion has generated an assortment of findings that are more conventional than reality. Design/methodology/approach: This study looked into how financial inclusion affected the functioning of women-owned enterprises in Vellore, Tamilnadu, India. One thousand two thousand seventy-four (1,274) women-owned Small and medium enterprises, Small and Medium Businesses (MSMEs) registered with MSME made up the participants in this investigation, as well as three hundred fifty-seven (357) MSMEs being chosen as such sample size. Findings: The research used structured questionnaires and in-person interviews to collect data. Multiple Regression (Ordinary Least Square Estimate), as well as Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, were used to examine the data. Findings indicated that the efficiency of women-owned enterprises is positively and significantly impacted by financial inclusion. Research, Practical & Social implications: In hopes of reducing the gender disparity in financial intermediation, it is advised that the administration put laws and legislative regulations in place. Originality/value: Recognizing the crucial role that women-owned businesses play in the country's economic expansion and continue to increase gender diversity to foster an atmosphere of innovation.

Objectives: The main aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of microfinance institutions on women’s empowerment in Wolaita Zone, southern Ethiopia. Theoretical frame work: The effect of microfinance institutions through women empowerment by measuring economically, socially, and psychological. Methods: The data was collected from 399 household respondents, mostly women, about five branches or districts of microfinance institutions. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used to analyze women’s empowerment after participating in microfinance institutions. Results and conclusion: The output of the study shows a significantly positive effect of microfinance institutions on the selected indicators such as income, saving, consumption, living standards, medical facilities, decision-making power, political activity, and reducing domestic violence, but not significantly on education or women’s free movement for women’s empowerment. In addition to using descriptive statistics, after joining microfinance institutions, income, saving, and consumption increased by more than 548% compared with before joining the institutions. The findings of this paper can assist policymakers, such as stockholders, non-governmental organizations, and governments, in linking development programs with women. Implication of the research: In this paper the researcher suggested that the stockholders, donors and government should take action to solve women awareness, support their financial problems, and should design appropriate policy. Originality/Value: Our work and methodology are novel in the study.

The study explore the changes and opportunities for women's education in Islamic societies. Islamic education promotes women's empowerment as a step toward a more inclusive and equitable society. This study employs the literature, which takes a systematic and comprehensive approach to analyze and evaluate scholarly articles in order to gain a deep understanding of the chosen topic.The goal is to synthesize and summarize the findings to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the subject, ultimately advancing the field and informing future research. The findings indicated that Islamic education promotes gender equality and women's empowerment. Islamic education provides an equal opportunity to learn gender awareness, which is required for meaningful engagement in society. There are important obstacles that need to be overcome, like restricted access, gender bias, social norms that are patriarchal, and money problems. It continues to advocate for Islamic education reforms and the advancement of women's roles in society.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of attitudinal acceptance of violence (AAV) over observed violence (OV), including the impact of five factors on OV. The study aims to identify the impact of acceptance of violence and explore its consequences, if any. The independent variables (IV) in the study are self-esteem (SE), women empowerment (WE), locus of control (LoC), financial income (FI), number of people in the family (FS), and financial stress (FinST). The dependent variable (DV) is observed violence (OV). We are seeing the moderating effect of AAV over OV as well as the impact of IVs over the moderator AAV. Research design: The participants of the study are married women in the age bracket of 18–60 years. The sample size of the study is 205. The data was obtained primarily through an adopted, pre-tested, structured questionnaire.  Data were analyzed using descriptive, correlation, and multiple regression. FinST and SE resulted in statistically significant impacts on OV, whereas there was no moderating impact of AAV among all the factors. Findings: The acceptance of violence by an individual woman differs vastly depending on personal perception, childhood experiences, education level, occupational type, the status of a dependency, and level of self-esteem. Women with high self-esteem are less likely to face violence; similarly, higher financial stress in the family increases the chances of observing violence. Practical Implications: The significance of this study is highlighted by the realization of the need for modification in the attitudinal acceptance of violence through changing Pakistan's educational policy. This study will help raise the bar for women and create awareness that violence should not be accepted.

Access to financial services is crucial for economic development and poverty reduction. Unfortunately, women in Pakistan face significant barriers to accessing financial services, including formal accounts, businesses ownership, and entrepreneurship. This study aims to investigate the role of financial inclusion in empowering women and to identify the challenges they face in accessing financial services. The study is quantitative and analyses data collected from the Financial Inclusion Insights (FII) survey of 2017, with a sample size of 6,000. The study uses descriptive statistics and Chi-Square, Phi, and Cramer’s V correlation to analyse the cross-sectional data. The study found significant gender disparities in financial inclusion levels and identified the lack of financial literacy, awareness, and education and employment gaps as major hindrances for women’s access to financial services, even digital ones. The study concludes that financial inclusion and women’s empowerment have a bidirectional relationship, and recommends strengthening education, technological capabilities, and phone access, particularly for women to enhance their access and use of financial services in Pakistan.

Penelitian ini menginvestigasi peran teknologi digital dalam mengembangkan kewirausahaan inklusif dan mendorong pemberdayaan di antara kelompok yang termarginalkan dengan fokus khusus pada perempuan melalui pendekatan quadruple helix. Dengan menggunakan metode kualitatif, studi ini melakukan wawancara mendalam dengan para pemangku kepentingan yang mewakili pemerintah, industri, akademisi, dan kelompok masyarakat sipil yang berlokasi di Jabodetabek. Dengan menggunakan metode purposive sampling, responden dipilih untuk memastikan adanya perspektif yang beragam. Penelitian ini memberikan pemahaman yang komprehensif mengenai dampak pengembangan kewirausahaan digital terhadap pemberdayaan kelompok-kelompok yang kurang beruntung, dengan menyoroti peranan teknologi digital dalam pengembangan kewirausahaan dan pemberdayaan perempuan. Temuan ini menggarisbawahi pentingnya teknologi digital dalam mendorong pengembangan kewirausahaan yang inklusif, terutama dalam konteks masyarakat yang termarginalkan.

The importance of women in national development cannot be understated, and women's empowerment is still a topic of discussion on a global scale. The attainment of gender parity and the empowerment of women have been considered essential to the accomplishment of sustainable development objectives. As a result, the participation of women is becoming more prevalent in a variety of areas, including engineering. In addition to providing excellent service, women in this field have debunked the myth that engineering is a male-dominated profession. Organizations that employ female engineers report high levels of satisfaction with the outcomes attained, and this inspires more women to join the field. Even though more women are graduating from engineering programs, very few of them remain in the workforce, and of those who do, very few move up the corporate ladder. This raises the question of whether empowerment alone will be sufficient to keep female engineers on track and guarantee their career advancement. In light of the aforementioned, this study examined the impact of women's empowerment on the career advancement of female engineers. The study employed a descriptive survey research design to investigate how female engineers' career advancement is influenced by promotion, inclusion, continuous professional development, and recognition. 30 respondents made up the target population of female engineers across all cadres. Data was gathered online using a self-administered questionnaire with the help of Google Forms. The questionnaire items were highly appropriate for data collection, as evidenced by the Cronbach's alpha value of 0.97. The relationship between the independent and dependent variables was investigated using inferential statistics. All of the independent variables (promotion, r=0.922, p<0.01), continuous professional development, r=.935, p<0.05, recognition, r=0.897, p<0.01, inclusion, and r=.939, p<0.05) showed a strong positive correlation with the

Women's empowerment is crucial for sustainable economic progress and poverty reduction in developing nations. The study interviewed 1000 households in Punjab Province, Pakistan, using Shoaib et al.'s (2012) sampling methodology and dividing the province into four regions. The index was calculated using Alkire and Foster's (2007) methodology. The study reveals that leadership and income are the most significant factors contributing to female disempowerment in the Punjab province. The Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index score is 0.70, with 21% of women empowered and 79% disempowered. The study found that 7% of women's disempowerment contributes to autonomy in production, 23% to income control, 19% to organizational membership, and 10% to public speaking. Males' insufficient accomplishment differs from girls, with leadership contributing at 35% and time allocation at 25%. Male disempowerment is 7% in wealth control, while males face similar disempowerment in production and resource access. Men contribute 5% to asset ownership, 6% to purchase and sale, and 11% to credit access and control. Men's disempowerment index includes 22% group participation, 13% public speaking, 13% workload, and 12% leisure. The gender parity index shows that 51.7% of women experience gender disparity, with an average empowerment difference of 45.7%.

The population of Indonesian women is slightly less than men, according to the Indonesian Central Agency of Statistics survey in 2022. Unfortunately, they have not yet filled and occupied many public sectors, which have significant influence in determining decisions and important policies as their male counterpart have. This paper aims to elaborate on the potential of having Indonesian women as leaders - including political leaders and parliamentary representatives - by analyzing data about women's participation as parliamentary representatives and regency/city and provincial leaders in Indonesia. The study is descriptive qualitative research employing historical and both Indonesian regulations and progressive fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) juridical approaches. The data were analyzed using fiqh al-siyāsah (Islamic jurisprudence on politics) and empowerment theories. The findings show that 1) historically, women, in general, have the same capability and competence to become public and political leaders as men, and 2) juridically, the right to become public and political leaders is properly guaranteed in both Indonesian regulations and progressive Islamic jurisprudence.

Beyond the production of food: how can Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture address nutrition challenges? Despite substantial strides in reducing poverty over the past five decades in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), these countries experience disproportionately high rates of undernutrition. Agriculture is a key sector that plays a significant role in addressing malnutrition by addressing food insecurity. Particularly promising are nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) interventions, which are agricultural interventions that incorporate a clear objective to improve nutrition and integrate nutrition actions to achieve the nutrition objective, thereby also addressing nutrition security. As a part of the multisectoral response, NSA interventions address multiple underlying causes of malnutrition. However, studies on the mechanisms by which such interventions impact nutrition and which factors influence outcomes are scarce. Therefore, this PhD research aimed to gain insights into the impact pathways of NSA interventions to improve nutritional status, as well as the factors influencing the implementation and sustainability of the interventions in LMICs. This research used a mixed-methods study design that included two systematic reviews and two case studies based on NSA projects implemented in Bangladesh and Lao PDR. In six articles (4 already published), we explain the effects of NSA interventions on nutrition, the pathways to their, and the factors influencing the implementation and sustainability of the interventions. Three chapters demonstrate that NSA interventions can address the multiple determinants of malnutrition, significantly improve diet, reduce micronutrient deficiency, and, to a lesser extent, reduce underweight. This PhD research confirms that NSA interventions can contribute to nutrition through pathways of agricultural production, agricultural income, and women’s empowerment. In addition, this study puts forward the idea of labelling nutrition-relate

Poverty is one of the major causes of many social vices in less developed countries, which increasingly affecting vulnerable class in the society, particularly women. This study examines the impact of women empowerment on poverty reduction in Africa using time series panel data across Nigeria and Ivory Coast covering 2011 to 2021. The study used Livin, Lin and Chu (LLC) panel unit root test and found that all the variables are stationary at level and Pedroni test of cointegration confirmed the long run relationship among the variables. The causality result showed evidence of bi-directional causality running from poverty rate to multidimensional women empowerment and poverty rate and unemployment. Lastly, the study recommends that more importance should be attached to women empowerment in order to reduce the poverty rate across the countries of the study.

If women in rural areas have access to land, technology, financial services, education and markets like men, agricultural and non-agriculture (industry & services) production can be increased significantly, and the number of poor can be significantly reduced and impact the wellbeing of women in the rural areas. This paper aims to identify the possible livelihood opportunities for the poor people in the rural areas of Afghanistan, considering the current situation of the country, it requires to bring back at the center of focus to study the feasible livelihood opportunities and how it impacts the wellbeing of women in the rural areas of Afghanistan. Household headed women are in dire need in the rural areas of Afghanistan particularly after the collapse of the republic government after some of the restrictions were imposed on women. For analyzing the primary data model will be used for analyzing to determine the relationship between livelihoods opportunities and women lives in agricultural sector in rural areas of Afghanistan.

The advent of microcredit programmes in sub-Saharan Africa provides opportunities for rural households to acquire agricultural inputs and consumer goods. This study analysed gender differences in investment behaviour and repayment performance using a unique dataset—the complete client database (21,386 clients) of a microcredit programme operating in Western Kenya. Products purchased via the microcredit programme include seeds, fertilisers, post-harvesting technologies (drying sheets, storage bags, and pesticides), chicken feed packages, and different solar panel products. A machine learning-based basket analysis identified combinations of products purchased by male and female clients. Our results showed that female farmers usually made smaller investments, had higher repayment rates, and purchased more post-harvesting technologies than male farmers. In addition, female farmers used their loans to purchase less expensive products, whereas male farmers usually purchased more fertiliser and expensive solar panel products. The basket analysis revealed that female farmers purchased multiple products simultaneously more often than male farmers did. Finally, households without mobile phones had low repayment capabilities. Collectively, our findings show that microcredit programmes serving smallholder farmers can capitalise on their business data to learn about their clients’ gendered investment preferences and repayment behaviour.

Against the dark background of the social exclusion of women, especially Muslim women, Begum Rokeya, the pioneer of women’s emancipation in Bengal, British India in the early 20th century, stood with her enlightenment like a beacon and pushed her way for women’s emancipation from the depths of misery. She lived in a society shrouded by blind religious beliefs and practices where women were deprived of rights and freedom, and were repressed and oppressed in the name of religion. Despite her prevailing leanings toward religious beliefs and practices, she found that a powerful obstacle to women’s freedom stemmed from the misinterpretation of culturally biased religious norms, notions and intentions. She was a strong advocate for the emancipation of the society and especially women of her time. She eloquently expressed her opinion with regard to religious rituals, prevailing sentiments and general public psyche in practice that hindered the progress and emancipation of women as well as the society. Her opinions, propositions, criticisms, and activisms in this regard surprisingly resembled to a great extent that of the predominant Marxist views. In this article, her views and opinions on the dissemination and practice of religious teachings and rituals in the context of the marginalization of women as well as society have been examined and compared with that of the Marxist thoughts, especially those on religion through textual analysis and Marxist allusions.

International Migration and women empowerment is one of the most important issue prevailed in third world countries where women plays a subordinated roles in patriarchal societies. International Migration have played a significant role to enhance the social, economic, cultural, and political independency, and ultimately paved the ways towards the sustainable development. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the women empowerment associated with International Migration, and sustainable development. A sample size of five hundred (N=500) International Migrants from District Mirpur Azad Jammu & Kashmir by using structured questionnaire. The selection of sample was made by using stratified random sampling technique and analyzed by using SPSS-26 version. The results shows that International Migration has a strong association with the women empowerment such as there empowerment in demographic, social, economic, cultural, and political values of women and the has played a valuable contribution in the sustainable development in the country of origin.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are one of the latest topics getting attention among companies and universities. This reflects societal representation for gender ratios and many organizations have set goals on gender equality in creating a sustainable and innovative workplace. However, the statistics show that there is sluggish growth for women in managerial positions. This is creating a problem for promoting equity at leadership levels in every organization. Equity and equality are not the same as the former is closer to justice creating the same opportunities for all people with different abilities. Even though organizations can able to promote gender equality and achieve it with a better ratio, there is a struggle to increase women's representation at different leadership levels. The global scenario also shows that the representation of women on board and C-suite (Chief executive level like CEO, CFO, etc) is very low demanding gender equity at leadership levels. Thereby, a case study is performed in Celanese, a materials company that has better gender equality across the organization. This research is executed as an embedded single case study in both the global and Dutch context to understand this scenario and their gender representation at the management level. This is, in particular, to relate gender equality ratio progress and effectiveness for development programs to promote more women leaders supporting equitable workplace. The embedded case study is performed through ethnography research in terms of observations, qualitative interviews, and focused group discussions inside the organization. This approach helps to understand the existing scenario for women's representation and leadership development opportunities in a typical materials company. This is extended for industrial benchmarks at the global level as a comparison of gender equality ratios against their competitors. The leadership interviews with both genders focusing on women leaders are d, Management of Technology (MoT)

Modern undergraduates and graduate students are keenly interested in the various ways in which chemistry impacts everyday life. This interest stems partly from career imperatives, but also from a natural interest in the relationship between fundamental science and the technology that increasingly dominates our lives. Classical chemistry courses at the university level rightly emphasize fundamental science. But courses that focus on the utilization of that chemistry are still rare. This book is an outgrowth of a course in materials chemistry that I have taught for several years in the Chemistry Department at various Institutions. It is a course taken by advanced undergraduates and by students who are in the first year of the graduate program in chemistry, most of whom have had little or no prior exposure to materials science. The class has also attracted undergraduates from materials science and chemical engineering programs who are seeking a general overview of the field. The subject matter is wide-ranging and, because the course extends over only one semester, the treatment aims for breadth, understanding, and perspective rather than great depth. The athematical foundations of the field are deliberately excluded in order to emphasize chemical concepts rather than the traditional engineering or physics treatments. A challenge with this approach is that published material relevant to this subject is widely scattered in specialist books and research articles, and this presents a problem for students who seek to access background reading material. Thus, I have written this book in order to present a qualitative overview of relevant chemistry-related aspects and to provide a springboard to encourage readers to delve deeper into specific topics. Each chapter ends with a brief summary of future challenges in the different fields that could form the basis of class discussions and brainstorming sessions. A few of the references are to historical, ground-breaking articles t

The research aimed to analyze the levels of female empowerment by comparing rural and urban parishes in the Canton of Latacunga, which is part of the province of Cotopaxi in the Ecuadorian Andes. The methodology proposed by Hernández & García (2008) was applied to a sample of 384 women over 15 years of age, of whom 151 reside in rural areas and 233 in urban areas. The instrument was composed of two parts: the initial one associated with questions on socio-demographic components, and the second with 34 reactive ones on the perception of empowerment, with four possible answers on a Likert-type scale. The levels of empowerment were analyzed in both, urban and rural areas, validating the possible existence of statistically significant differences. In addition, the factor analysis methodology was used to group the approaches into dimensions. It possible to validate the idea of a higher level of empowerment in the urban area (96.67) compared to the rural sector (93.46). However, in both cases they are medium, with a statistically significant difference of 1%. Secondly, the results related to the factors into which the empowerment reagents could be grouped allowed for extracting of seven dimensions associated with security, self-esteem, boldness, equality, independence, external influences, and leadership. These factors presented different behaviors between both study areas, being superior in the urban environment – except for boldness, which was greater in the rural area, and external influences, which presented similar values. External influences score low, security and independence are in the middle ranges, while social value, equality and leadership are at the upper end of the proposed scales. Therefore, women consider that their work and effort are recognized socially or, at least, by their families., L'objectif de cette recherche était d'analyser les niveaux d'autonomisation des femmes en comparant les paroisses rurales et urbaines du canton de Latacunga, appartenant à la province de Cotopaxi, dans les Andes équatoriennes. La méthodologie proposée par Hernández et García (2008) a été appliquée à un échantillon de 384 femmes âgées de plus de 15 ans, dont 151 vivent dans des zones rurales et 233 dans des zones urbaines. L'instrument était composé de deux parties : la première partie était associée à des questions sur les composantes sociodémographiques et la seconde comprenait 34 questions sur la perception de l'autonomisation, avec quatre réponses possibles sur une échelle de type Likert. Les niveaux d'autonomisation ont été analysés dans les zones urbaines et rurales, ce qui a permis de valider l'existence de différences statistiquement significatives. En outre, la méthodologie de l'analyse factorielle a été utilisée pour regrouper les déclarations en dimensions. Il a été possible de valider l'idée d'un niveau d'autonomisation plus élevé dans la zone urbaine (96,67) que dans le secteur rural (93,46). Toutefois, dans les deux cas, il s'agit de niveaux moyens, avec une différence statistiquement significative de 1%. Les résultats relatifs aux facteurs dans lesquels les items d'autonomisation pouvaient être regroupés nous ont permis d'extraire sept dimensions associées à la sécurité, l'estime de soi, la confiance, l'égalité, l'indépendance, les influences externes et le leadership. Ces facteurs ont montré des comportements différents entre les deux zones d'étude, avec des meilleurs résultats dans les zones urbaines, à l'exception de deux d'entre eux : la confiance, qui a été plus élevée dans les zones rurales, et les influences externes, qui ont montré des valeurs similaires aussi bien au milieu rural qu'urbain. Les influences externes sont placées à un faible niveau, la sécurité et l'indépendance se situent dans la moyenne, tandis que la valeur sociale, l'égalité, O objetivo da investigação foi analisar os níveis de empoderamento feminino, comparando as freguesias rurais e urbanas do cantão de Latacunga, pertencente à província de Cotopaxi, nos Andes equatorianos. A metodologia proposta por Hernández e García (2008) foi aplicada a uma amostra de 384 mulheres com mais de 15 anos de idade, 151 das quais vivem em zonas rurais e 233 em zonas urbanas. O instrumento era composto por duas partes: a parte inicial associada a questões sobre componentes sociodemográficos, e a segunda com 34 itens sobre a percepção do empowerment, com quatro respostas possíveis numa escala de tipo Likert. Os níveis de empowerment foram analisados nas zonas urbanas e rurais, validando a existência de diferenças estatisticamente significativas. Além disso, foi utilizada a metodologia da análise fatorial para agrupar as afirmações em dimensões. Foi possível validar a ideia de um maior nível de empowerment na zona urbana (96,67) em comparação com o sector rural (93,46). No entanto, em ambos os casos, encontram-se em níveis médios, com uma diferença estatisticamente significativa de 1%. Em segundo lugar, os resultados relativos aos fatores em que os itens de empowerment podem ser agrupados permitiramnos extrair sete dimensões associadas à segurança, auto-estima, confiança, igualdade, independência, influências externas e liderança. Estes factores revelaram comportamentos diferentes entre as duas áreas de estudo, sendo mais elevados nas áreas urbanas, com excepção da confiança, que foi mais elevada nas áreas rurais, e das influências externas, que apresentaram valores semelhantes. As influências externas são colocadas num nível baixo, a segurança e a independência situam-se nos intervalos médios, enquanto o valor social, a igualdade e a liderança são valorizados no extremo superior das escalas propostas. Assim, as mulheres sentem que o seu trabalho e esforço são reconhecidos socialmente ou, pelo menos, pelas suas famílias., La investigación tuvo como objetivo analizar los niveles de empoderamiento femenino comparando parroquias rurales y urbanas del cantón Latacunga, perteneciente a la provincia de Cotopaxi, en los Andes ecuatorianos. Se aplicó la metodología propuesta por Hernández & García (2008) a una muestra de 384 mujeres mayores de 15 años, de las cuales 151 residen en el área rural y 233 en el área urbana. El instrumento estuvo compuesto por dos partes: la inicial, asociada a preguntas sobre componentes sociodemográficos, en tanto que la segunda incluía 34 reactivos sobre la percepción de empoderamiento, con cuatro posibles respuestas en una escala tipo Likert. Los niveles de empoderamiento fueron analizados tanto en las zonas urbanas como en las zonas rurales, validando la existencia de diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre ellas. Además, se utilizó la metodología de análisis factorial para agrupar los planteamientos en dimensiones. Fue posible validar la idea de un mayor nivel de empoderamiento en el área urbana (96,67) en comparación con el sector rural (93,46). Sin embargo, en ambos casos se ubican en niveles medios, con una diferencia estadísticamente significativa de 1%. En segundo lugar, los resultados relacionados con los factores en los que se podían agrupar los reactivos de empoderamiento permitieron extraer siete dimensiones asociadas a la seguridad, autoestima, confianza, igualdad, independencia, influencias externas y liderazgo. Estos factores presentaron comportamientos diferenciados entre ambas áreas de estudio, siendo superiores en el ámbito urbano; las excepciones fueron la confianza, que fue mayor en el ámbito rural y las influencias externas, que presentaron valores similares. Las influencias externas se ubican en un nivel bajo, la seguridad y la independencia se sitúan en los rangos medios, mientras que el valor social, la igualdad y el liderazgo se valoran en el extremo superior de las escalas propuestas. Por tanto, las mujeres consideran que su

Women’s empowerment and gender equality have come a long way over the last century. Today, many societies pride themselves on having made considerable strides towards egalitarianism. However, even the most egalitarian societies admit that gaps still exist. Developing countries are also on course to achieving gender equality. A case study of Bangladesh presented in this research reckons that Bangladesh is a global example. This research aimed to establish the feminist perspective on issues of gender equality and empowerment, divorce, and gender competition. To achieve these objectives, the selected methodology comprised two case studies, one for Bangladesh and another for the UK, which served the purpose of making comparisons. The findings indicate that Bangladesh has made significant progress but lags behind many egalitarian Western societies. Bangladesh’s efforts to achieve equality and empowerment have also caused divorce rates to rise, unlike in the UK. Lastly, gender competition fails to explain the remaining gender gaps.

Microcredit is often regarded as the best tool for poverty alleviation and women's empowerment. The literature agrees that microcredit impacts positively different aspects of women’s lives. However, there are some aspects, including patriarchal norms and culture, that may obstacle to the success of those programs. Hence, the thesis analyzes the effect of microfinance and women’s empowerment in Ghana, using meta-regression analysis. I employed 13 papers published between 2011 and 2021. Moreover, I use a thematic review approach to analyze and systematically summarize the findings of qualitative studies. The analysis indicates that there is evidence for a positive relationship between microfinance and women’s empowerment. The findings are robust when controlling for the different proxies of women’s empowerment, the different regions of Ghana and the different types of microfinance services. I concluded that overall the positive effect of microcredit on different aspects of women’s lives promotes empowerment.

This study underlines the importance of addressing gender issues in family firms. It reinvigorates research in this field by revealing its current state, identifying research gaps, and suggesting future agendas. A bibliometric approach using a co-word analysis of 376 papers from the Web of Science database and their 885 keywords was performed to reveal the thematic structure of gender and family firm research, research topics, associations among them, and their evolution over the last 30 years (1991–2021). This review provides an extensive literature base and suggests research topics that facilitate the adoption of a gendered lens in family firm literature and business practice. This review demonstrates how gender issues are intertwined with management, leadership, and family business approaches. Our observations inform scholars, policymakers, and practitioners on the need to integrate gender issues into organizational culture and to connect empowerment strategies with the sociocultural environment. This study shows the need to address women’s empowerment in business, considering different sociocultural contexts in addition to a Western focus. It also calls for embracing gender and feminist perspectives in research.

In developing or "third-world" countries, women's social inclusion is a big problem. This is because women are such an important part of society in the modern era of globalization. In the majority of patriarchal societies, women are treated as subordinates with no power. Another significant social issue in Pakistan is the social integration of women into mainstream society. Investigating women's emancipation, social inclusion, and demographic factors through microfinance is the study's aim. Using a structured questionnaire with binary and categorical replies, information was gathered from 305 respondents. Information from the respondents was collected simply through random sampling. Advanced statistical approaches were employed to evaluate and interpret the data, which were analyzed using the SPSS-24 version. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the demographic variables, while inferential statistics were used to analyze the other variables related to the objectives. The results of the study demonstrated a relationship between the demographic factors and those that affected their social inclusion. Through microfinance, women are given more power, which has enhanced their participation in economic activities as well as their empowerment in all spheres, including social, cultural, economic, and inclusion in public spheres through the improvement of decision-making abilities.

This paper discusses women's decision-making role in the affluent patriarchal households of Pakhtuns. The patriarchy is popularly believed to be an impediment for women to participate in decision-making at the household level. The study analyses the participation of women in decision-making related to children's spouse selection, education and health, and family planning. The study also focused on women's role in decision-making related to household expenditure and the purchase of household items and immovable property. The study was qualitative, and participant observation and in-depth interviews were used as data collection tools. The study found that women's age, education, marital status, marriage duration, and family structure determine women's decision-making. The study reveals that despite the patriarchal system of households in affluent Pakhtun households, women participated in the decisions making. They participated in decision-making related to children's health, education, and selection of the spouse for their children. Women had a say in family planning. They also participated in the decisions related to household expenditure and purchasing household items. Participation of women in decisions related to the purchase of immovable items was limited.

Climate change affects people and regions differently. The East Africa region is one of the most affected by the changes in the climate. There, women, especially the most marginalised and disadvantaged, are the most impacted, in many ways. Despite being the most heavily burdened, rural women are underrepresented and overlooked in tackling weather change. This can be changed by adopting a gender perspective that empowers women. This would allow them to improve their lives exponentially and to become key actors in mitigating and adapting to climate change effectively.

The Center for Exchange and Reference Community Initiative (CIERIC) linked to the Union of Artists and Writers of Cuba (UNEAC), has been linked since its inception to community work promoting participation, comprehensive vision and articulation of actors. It promotes the cultural dimension of development at the local and community level through a methodology for the management of projects and territorial development processes, promoting a cultural change in individual and collective subjects that contributes to the construction of a society with well-being, inclusive, equitable, sustainable and environmentally responsible. In the community of Santa Rosa, a community from las Tunas in the municipality of Majibacoa, in the eastern region of Cuba, development processes based on a cultural conception are being precisely monitored, with the objective of proposing a sociocultural dynamization strategy that develops the community and favors women's empowerment. The study combines the use of theoretical, practical and empirical research methods, as well as techniques and instruments for the search for information. The proposed actions favor an integral development of Blanca Rosa and an improvement of the social, economic and political scenario where women are the center of attention., El Centro de Intercambio y Referencia Iniciativa Comunitaria (CIERIC), vinculado a la Unión de Artistas y Escritores de Cuba (UNEAC), se ha vinculado desde sus inicios al trabajo comunitario promoviendo la participación, la visión integral y articulación de actores. Se promueve la dimensión cultural de desarrollo a nivel local y comunitario mediante una metodología para la gestión de proyectos y de los procesos de desarrollo territorial, promoviendo un cambio cultural en sujetos individuales y colectivos que contribuye a la construcción de una sociedad con bienestar, inclusiva, con equidad, sostenible y ambientalmente responsable. En la comunidad de Santa Rosa, una comunidad tunera del municipio de Majibacoa, en la región oriental de Cuba, se están acompañan do precisamente procesos de desarrollo basados en una concepción cultural, con el objetivo proponer una estrategia de dinamización sociocultural que desarrolle la comunidad y favorezca el empoderamiento de las mujeres. El estudio combina la utilización de métodos de investigación teóricos, prácticos y empíricos; así como de técnicas e instrumentos para la búsqueda de información. Las acciones propuestas favorecen un desarrollo integral de Blanca Rosa y un mejoramiento del escenario social, económico y político donde el centro de atención son las mujeres.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges female entrepreneurs face in the development of their business in the context of Multan. In so doing, it addresses a gap in the literature on the experiences of female entrepreneurs in a Southern Punjab context and acknowledges the contribution that women make in this area of work. The paper draws on survey data from 100 female entrepreneurs currently engaged in their businesses in district Multan– a Southern Punjab District in Pakistan. Results indicate that female entrepreneurs are generally confident and resourceful and that they enjoy the challenge of entrepreneurial activity. As in the other areas, they experience difficulties relating to family commitments and access to finance – as well as problems gaining acceptance and accessing networks.

Introduction: Social concerns without businesses and businesses without social consideration are anti-developmental. However, balancing both simultaneously is arduous and challenging. Nevertheless, social entrepreneurship has proven that it could be balanced simultaneously.   Objective: The study aims to comprehend how the multipronged SDGs could be achieved through social entrepreneurial activities in India & South Africa. Albeit, both nations have distinct features in terms of geographically, demographically, religiously, and culturally. Methods: The study randomly selected the samples from both countries & used the case study approach of qualitative research.   Results: The study shows that the selected cases from both nations focus mainly on waste management, social inclusion and women empowerment. Most of the case studies were working for waste management in both countries, where they aimed to reduce plastic pollution, i.e., both the nation's critical problems at the current time. However, due to contextual embeddedness, these social enterprises adopt different techniques to achieve these multipronged SDGs in both countries. Besides, they also generate employment opportunities for the people and help to reduce poverty in both countries. Few other case studies have impinged on women's empowerment and social inclusion, particularly disabled people.   Conclusion: The study concludes by saying that additional work needs to be done to develop the concept further and that the government should offer incentives for adopting this concept since, with the aid of social entrepreneurs, the government may accelerate its progress towards the accomplishment of sustainable development goals.

Purpose: The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) launched Women Empowerment Policy (WEP) in 2017, the policy was based on the Women Empowerment Policy Framework (WEP-Framework) of 2014. Several policy interventions were planned to be achieved during the five-year implementation of WEP-2017. Approach: This study aimed to analyze WEP-2017 from three distinct perspectives: 1) the formation of WEP-2017 as a strategic policy document focusing on the analysis of the identified key performing areas, the designed objectives, and the planned interventions/activities, 2) the linkage of WEP-2017 as a policy document with the annual fund's allocation of the govt. through annual development on gender mainstreaming interventions and 3) the implementation gap analysis of WEP-2017 by reviewing and comparing the post-2017 sectoral strategies of Agriculture, Education, Health, and Industry sectors with that of WEP-2017. Findings: The study concluded that WEP-2017 objectives are non-quantifiable and specific, similarly no linkage between govt. funds allocation with WEP-2017 schemes was determined. Value: The mentioned factors along with lack of advocacy and awareness within the govt. departments led to the non-achievement of the intended objectives of WEP-2017.                                                            &nbsp

Purpose: Women empowerment is a rapidly growing theme that inspires women to feel courageous and do what they feel they cannot do. Women seem far behind compared to men when it comes to participation in different sectors, particularly the economy and politics. Punjab is the largest province of Pakistan in terms of population. Here, women are more in number than men and constitute 51.8% of the province’s total population. Despite being outnumbered, women lag far behind in terms of availability and access to resources and opportunities. A notable disparity can be observed in economic, political, and social sectors. The research intends to explore the key socio-cultural challenges that hinder the way of women towards empowerment in the province of Punjab. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study adopts a qualitative research design to explore the selected phenomenon. Under the particular paradigm, the case study method is selected by the researcher. Findings: The socio-cultural conditions are progressive and favorable for women in Punjab, compared to the rest of the provinces still, women do not feel empowered. The primary challenges to empowerment include Patriarchy, a less supportive family system, domestic violence and abuses, and misinterpretation of the religious teachings. Implications/Originality/Value: Transformation in traditional socio-cultural patterns, Redefining the gender roles and responsibilities, means of communications, support of men, and women themselves can act as agents of re-shaping the power structures.

Purpose: The present research seeks to explore the effects of Soap operas on television viewers. It had made comparative analysis of male and female viewer’s perception regarding the image of female empowerment as projected in soap operas. Design/Methodology/Approach: For this study, quantitative survey was conducted. By employing a framework of cultivation theory the effects of Star Plus soaps on the minds of viewers were examined. In this connection, 200 samples of respondents were drawn from the population by using purposive sampling technique. Findings: The results indicated that Star Plus soap operas had influenced the thinking of male and female respondents differently. Female respondents supported women’s equal rights for political, social and educational perspectives than male respondents.  Female respondents rejected wife battering and honor killing than males. Overall, it was noticed that female viewers of soap operas considered that subservience attitude of women was the actual reason of females’ suffering in the society.  Implications/Originality/Value: The findings suggest policy consideration to Pakistan Media industry regarding female’s portrayal in dramas. In Pakistan Urdu dramas are very popular in prime time. By projecting females in positive and strong roles, the concept of women empowerment can be disseminated in the society.