| Priyanka Shukla Research Scholar Department of Business Administration Awadhesh Pratap Singh University Rewa | Dr. Deepa Saxena Department of Business Administration Awadhesh Pratap Singh University Rewa |
Abstract
A key component of women’s empowerment is their awareness of and exposure to the outside world, which shows their degree of expertise, self-assurance, and capacity to interact with others outside of the home and conventional spheres. Through financial inclusion, training initiatives, and community involvement, this study investigates how microfinance can increase women’s understanding and exposure to the outside world. The study used descriptive and inferential statistical methods, such as cross-tabulation, ANOVA, and t-tests, to examine differences across marital status, community, and family type based on responses from 400 women connected to different microfinance organizations and self-help groups. The findings showed that, although the extent of the influence varies slightly across various community groups, microfinance has greatly raised women’s knowledge across all demographic categories. The results confirm that microfinance is a transforming tool for social and economic empowerment, promoting independence, decision-making skills, and participation in societal development, in addition to being a financial mechanism.