Economic Empowerment of Rural Women Through Entrepreneurship Development Skills: Strategies, Issues and Challenges

Abstract

Women in rural areas rely heavily on commercial service sectors, small-scale firms and home based micro enterprises for the livelihood of their families. Unfortunately, so far detailed and analytical study has not been undertaken on economic empowerment of rural women and their entrepreneurial development skills. An effort has been made in this paper is to identify various means of merchantable areas and required entrepreneurial skills to transform the rural women status and to bring better economic empowerment and to assess the socio economic conditions and problems of rural women, developing their entrepreneurial skills, analyzing the role of Government policies and programs in empowering women through retailing. Women’s Entrepreneurship Development (WED) underlines the role of Women agency and organizations in development - the view that women are agents of social changes rather than passive participants or victims. From this perspective, Women’s Entrepreneurship Development derives from women’s greater overall power and influence at different levels - Micro-Meso and Macro. Economic development and Economic growth in villages provide Economic empowerment to Rural Women through Entrepreneurial development skills. NGOS and Academic intelligentsias must work for the economic empowerment of rural women with the Government agencies in bringing up the effective social and economic reforms in remote tribal rural areas and provide them the much needed training skills in the areas (Food processing, Pulp making, Weaving and Lace-knitting, Herbals, spices and honey Handicrafts - wood, bamboo, clay, cloth, toymaking, retailing seasonal fruits, Horticulture, nursery, flower plants, Retail marketing of forest products) for creativity and Micro financial assistance through cooperative societies and Non Government agencies.