Section Article

Role of Self-Help Groups in Women Empowerment
Author(s): Ravi Gupta

Abstract
Women empowerment has emerged as a crucial developmental objective across the globe particularly in developing countries like India where socio-economic inequalities continue to affect women’s participation in decision-making employment education and governance. Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have become one of the most significant grassroots-level institutional mechanisms for promoting women empowerment by facilitating financial inclusion collective action and social transformation. This research paper examines the role of Self-Help Groups in empowering women economically socially politically and psychologically. It explores how SHGs contribute to income generation savings behavior credit access skill development leadership formation and social awareness among women. The paper also analyzes the challenges faced by SHGs including limited market access capacity constraints financial sustainability and institutional support gaps. Drawing on secondary data government reports and existing literature the study highlights the transformative potential of SHGs while emphasizing the need for policy reforms capacity building and digital integration to enhance their effectiveness. The findings indicate that SHGs have significantly improved women’s self-confidence bargaining power and social status making them an indispensable tool for inclusive and sustainable development.