Co-operatives in India: Empowering Women, Driving Progress

Abstract

Women constitute roughly half the worldʼs population and a substantial portion of the labour force. Womenʼs integration and inclusion into development are viewed as commencing with womenʼs empowerment. Cooperatives play a crucial role in womenʼs empowerment by organising them into groups and granting them financial independence by improving their standard of living. Cooperatives are unique business models based on their membersʼ social and economic needs, particularly women who cannot access resources and assets. Empowerment is multifaceted, and gender inequality and underdevelopment are inseparable. The research investigates the role cooperative societies play in socially, economically, and politically empowering women by changing the traditional power structure of the economies in which they operate. The paper concludes that by placing women to work in the footsteps of the Cooperative Movement, the economy can be strengthened, and societal and economic goals can be achieved.