The connection between poverty and women's lack of power over resources and decision-making has now caught the attention of policymakers in government and mainstream development all over the world. Women empowerment issues perceived nationally or locally are being addressed by both state and non-state agencies. Beside the government intervention, NGOs are implementing various types of Women Empowerment Programmes including IG Programmes. Women Empowerment Programmes in India include livelihood support Programme, rehabilitation and job placement for rescued women, safe motherhood Programme and so forth. In spite of involvement of various NGOs in women empowerment through Income Generation and Skill Development Programmes, the status of women is still not satisfactory in India as various official as well as unofficial reports claim and the outcomes against the stated objectives of the NGOs' Women Empowerment Programmes are often questioned. Therefore, the present study is focused in assessing the impact of IG Programmes run by non-government organizations in empowering women. The researcher hypothesizes that IG Programme with its components viz., skill training, resource inputs of loan and equipment help to increase income to the women through independent business or work in the related field; the increased income lessens their dependence on family heads and enables to spend for personal expenses; gives them certain freedoms as individuals; enables them to contribute to family affairs financially, which creates an environment in the family in favor or the women to accept her views and participation in family matters like education, marriage, purchase etc.
Healthcare expenditure and income generation: a US case