Together We Can: Assessing the Impact of Women’s Action Groups on Social Change in India

This project was a part of the Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW), funded by IDRC. The aim of the project was two-fold:

(i) To evaluate the impact of Mahila Samakhya (MS) programme on the economic empowerment of women, and (ii) To raise awareness and influence policies regarding collective action-based programmes among government functionaries, academics, media, and civil society.

The two sites of study for this project were: Bihar and Karnataka. In both the states, the research framework and methodology used in the study is both quantitative and qualitative in nature. In Bihar, the research design was based on a cross-sectional study that examined the long, medium, and short term effects of the MS programme on social and economic change across three districts. In Karnataka, the study involved a randomised experiment to evaluate the mechanisms of MS on women’s economic empowerment and citizenship, by examining the expansion of MS in the district of Haveri.

Several blogs were written in relation to the project. You can read them below:

1. The Many Faces of Participatory Methodologies

2. The Problem Of Researchers’ Discretion In Propensity Score Matching

3. Fitting into My Own Shoes: Reflections from the Field

4. Reflections on Fieldwork

5. Do Women in India Require Empowerment?

6. Women’s Empowerment: Still A Long Way To Go! (Dilli Abhi Bahut Door Hai)