Women's empowerment and economic development: the cases of Bangladesh and Kenya

Women entrepreneurs greatly benefit from the development of economies on both the local and national level. They employ themselves as well as people in the community. Today, microcredit, as part of the microfinance system, has become one of the most successful economic development tools for aid agencies and non-governmental organizations all over the world. Within this framework, this chapter discusses 1) the importance of women to economic development; 2) the significance of microfinance practices for women's empowerment; and 3) the specific influence of microcredit on women's empowerment in Asian and European countries, as determined by spatial econometric analysis with respect to different microfinance variables for the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) and European zones. Using data from 1990-2016, and employing panel spatial econometric models to analyze the changes in women's empowerment over the years, the study has observed that the microfinance indicators are statistically and economically effective in promoting women empowerment in both MENA and European regions.

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Waiting or Acting? The Gender Gap in International Football Success

International Review for the Sociology of Sport ◽

10.1177/10126902211060727 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 101269022110607

Author(s):

Ignacio Lago ◽

Santiago Lago-Peñas ◽

Carlos Lago-Peñas

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Social Development ◽

Gender Gap ◽

Women's Empowerment ◽

Women’S Empowerment ◽

General Question ◽

Positive Externalities ◽

Using Data ◽

Open Question ◽

Women's Football

The conditions under which women's national football teams do better or worse in international tournaments remains an open question. Using data from 116 countries worldwide, we have examined three arguments accounting for the gender gap in international football success, focusing on positive externalities from economic development and women's empowerment, and the active policies promoting women's football. Our findings show that the international performance of women's national football teams compared to men's national football teams increases with women's empowerment and in countries committed to the promotion of women's football, while economic development is not relevant. The general question we address is whether gender gaps disappear because of economic and social development, or if active policies promoting women are required to achieve gender equality.

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Gender Empowerment in South Korean Development: Lessons for Foreign Aid

International Studies Review ◽

10.1163/2667078x-01201003 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 55-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Eun Mee Kim ◽

Jae Eun Lee

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Manufacturing Sector ◽

Women's Empowerment ◽

Development Cooperation ◽

Gender Mainstreaming ◽

Women’S Empowerment ◽

Women's Employment ◽

Women’S Employment ◽

Gender Empowerment ◽

And Gender

Souch Korea's rapid economic development in the 20th century had in its core women's employment in labor-intensive, export industries. This paper examines South Korea's economic development through the lens of women's employment and gender empowerment. Although women's empowerment was not part of a goal of South Korea's development, large mobilization of women in the exporting light manufacturing sector eventually led to women's empowerment. Using OECD/DAC's guidelines on gender mainstreaming and gender equality, the paper examines how the Souch Korean experience can provide an alternative to women's empowerment in developing countries. We conclude that there has to be greater sensitivity to address gender-related issues including gender-mainstreaming and gender-sensitive budgets in order to help women attain economic as well as political empowerment in development cooperation.

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Secular and Islamic feminist entrepreneurship in Turkey

International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship ◽

10.1108/ijge-03-2014-0006 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 45-65 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Banu Özkazanç-Pan

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Gender Equality ◽

Gender Inequality ◽

Women's Empowerment ◽

Women’S Empowerment ◽

Structural Constraints ◽

Political Commitment ◽

Content Type ◽

Political Issues ◽

Individual Level

Purpose – This paper aims to highlight secular and Islamic feminist approaches to entrepreneurship as potential means to challenge gender inequality in the Turkish context. In Turkey, gender equality remains elusive in a nation where secular and Islamic ideologies compete and produce different solutions to ongoing economic, socio-cultural and political issues. Women’s entrepreneurship has emerged as an important solution toward gender equality and economic development. Design/methodology/approach – Using two women’s organizations that exemplify secular and Islamic feminist ideologies, the author examines whether the entrepreneurship activities they promote give way to challenging patriarchal norms, values and practices widespread in Turkish society. Findings – Through their distinct practices and engagement with entrepreneurship, both secular and Islamic feminist positions allow for praxis and represent an ethico-political commitment to dismantling neo-liberal development ideologies in the Turkish context that perpetuate gender inequality. Social implications – Secular and Islamic feminist practices and entrepreneurship practices have different implications for achieving gender equality including changes in gender norms, economic development policies and women’s empowerment in a Muslim-majority country. In addition, it raises questions around the popular notion of “entrepreneurship as women’s empowerment”. Originality/value – This paper is of value to scholars who want to understand secular and Islamic feminisms and their implications for challenging gender inequality. The Turkish context with its traditional and modern societal norms and values provides a rich case study to examine these issues through the exemplars of entrepreneurship. It is also of value to scholars who want to understand structural constraints associated with gender equality beyond individual-level challenges.

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