The objective of this study was to assess the impact of microfinance on rural women with respect to social, economic, and political empowerment. The study was carried out on 512 respondents belonging from Aravalli and Mehsana districts of North Gujarat. The districts and talukas were selected based on the highest and lowest rural women population. The villages were selected based on the highest rural women population. The study was conducted using the paired sample t-test. The study found that after joining the SHGs, the women were empowered significantly from the economic perspective ; they were somewhat empowered from the social perspective because on some of the criteria, the women were already empowered before joining the SHGs ; and the women were not empowered much on the political grounds after joining the SHGs. However, overall, the women were empowered after joining the SHGs.

1. Al-Shami, S. S., Razali, M. M., Majid, I., Rozelan, A., & Rashid, N. (2016). The effect of microfinance on women’s empowerment: Evidence from Malaysia. Asian Journal of Women's Studies, 22(3), 318–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2016.1205378
2. Barman, D., Mathur, H. P., & Kalra, V. (2009). Role of microfinance interventions in financial inclusion : A comparative study of microfinance models. Vision : The Journal of Business Perspectives, 13(3), 51–59. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F097226290901300305
3. Bartlett II, J. E., Kotrlik, J. W., & Higgins, C. C. (2001). Organizational research: Determining appropriate sample size in survey research. Information Technology, Learning, and Performance Journal, 19(1), 43–50.
4. Bhatt, N., Patel, R., & Kaur, A. (2020). A study of ICT adoption and its impact on selected MFIs of Gujarat. Indian Journal of Finance, 14(2), 7–20. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2020/v14i2/150553
5. Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334.
6. Ganle, J. K., Afriyie, K., & Segbefia, A. Y. (2015). Microcredit : Empowerment and disempowerment of rural women in Ghana. World Development, 66, 335–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.08.027
7. Ghosh, R., Chakravarti, P., & Mansi, K. (2015). Women's empowerment and education : Panchayats & women's selfhelp groups in India. Policy Futures in Education, 13(3), 294–314.
8. Habib, M., & Jubb, C. (2012). Role of microfinance in political empowerment of women : Bangladesh experience. OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development, 5(5), 99–110.
9. Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (1998). Multivariate data analysis. Prentice Hall.
10. Hashemi, S. M., Schuler, S. R., & Riley, A. P. (1996). Rural credit programs and women's empowerment in Bangladesh. World Development, 24(4), 635–653. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-750X(95)00159-A
11. Hoque, S. (2005). Micro-credit and empowerment of women: Evidence from Bangladesh. The Asian Economic Review, 47(3), 411–420.
12. Hunt, J., & Kasynathan, N. (2001). Pathways to empowerment ? Reflections on microfinance and transformation in gender relations in South Asia. Gender & Development, 9(1), 42–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552070127738
13. Kim, J.C., Watts, C.H., Hargreaves, J. R., Ndhlovu, L.X., Phetla, G., Morison, L. A., Busza, J., Porter, J. D., & Pronyk, P. (2007). Understanding the impact of a microfinance-based intervention on women’s empowerment and the reduction of intimate partner violence in South Africa. American Journal of Public Health, 97(10), 1794–1802.
14. Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology : Methods and techniques. New Age International (P) Ltd.
15. Kumar, S. S. (2013). Access, use and repayment of micro-credit in Kerala - An analysis. Journal of Rural Development, 32(3), 263–280.
16. Laha, A., & Kuri, P. K. (2014). Measuring the impact of microfinance on women empowerment : A cross country analysis with special reference to India. International Journal of Public Administration, 37(7), 397–408. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2013.858354
17. Moser, C. O. (1989). Gender planning in the Third World : Meeting practical and strategic gender needs. World Development, 17(11), 1799–1825. https://doi.org/10.1016/0305-750X(89)90201-5
18. Patel, R., & Patel, N. (2020). Impact of microfinance on women empowerment : A study from the decision - making perspective. Indian Journal of Finance, 14(8–9), 52–68. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2020/v14i8 9/154948
19. Patel, R., Patel, M., & Patel, N. (2018a.). Impact of microfinance on poor women: Lessons from North Gujarat. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 11(2), 14–29. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2018/v11i2/121393
20. Patel, R., Patel, M., & Patel, N. (2018b.). Impact of microfinance of women empowerment : A study of rural Gujarat. Indian Journal of Finance, 12(8), 22–35. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijf/2018/v12i8/130742
21. Qudrat - I Elahi, K. (2003). Microfinance, empowerment, and Sudra women in India. Development in Practice, 13(5), 570–572.
22. Rahman, M. M., Khanam, R., & Nghiem, S. (2017). The effects of microfinance on women’s empowerment : New evidence from Bangladesh. International Journal of Social Economics, 44(12), 1745–1757. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-02-2016-0070
23. Salia, S., Hussain, J., Tingbani, I., & Kolade, O. (2018). Is women empowerment a zero sum game ? Unintended consequences of microfinance for women’s empowerment in Ghana. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 24(1), 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-04-2017-0114
24. Sharma, S., & Goyal, D. P. (2020). Entrepreneurial marketing strategies for small businesses : An exploratory study of start-up companies in India. Indian Journal of Marketing, 50(8–9), 48–65. https://doi.org/10.17010/ijom/2020/v50/i8-9/154691
25. Sinha, S. (1998). Micro-credit : Impact, targeting and sustainability. IDS Bulletin, 29(1), 34–42.
26. Ssendi, L., & Anderson, A. R. (2009). Tanzanian micro enterprises and micro finance : The role and impact for poor rural women. The Journal of Entrepreneurship, 18(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F097135570801800101
27. The Research Advisors. (2006). Sample size table. http://www.researchadvisors. com/tools/SampleSize.htm
28. UNDP. (1995). Human Development Report. Oxford University Press.
29. Watkins, T. A. (2018). Introduction to microfinance. World Scientific Publishing Company.