Is women empowerment a zero sum game? Unintended consequences of microfinance for women's empowerment in Ghana
Is women empowerment a zero sum game? Unintended consequences of microfinance for women's empowerment in Ghana
Purpose
Against the background of growing concerns that development interventions can sometimes be a zero sum game, the purpose of this paper is to examine the unintended consequences of microfinance for women empowerment in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a participatory mixed-method approach including household questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews to investigate the dynamics of microfinance effects on women in communities of different vulnerability status in Ghana.
Findings
The results of hierarchical regression, triadic closure and thematic analyses demonstrate that the economic benefits of microfinance for women is also directly associated with conflicts amongst spouses, girl child labour, polygyny and the neglect of perceived female domestic responsibilities due to women’s devotion to their enterprises.
Originality/value
In the light of limited empirical evidence on potentially negative impacts of women empowerment interventions in Africa, this paper fills a critical gap in knowledge that will enable NGOs, policy makers and other stakeholders to design and implement more effective interventions that mitigate undesirable consequences.
Microfinance, Ghana, Unintended consequences, Women empowerment
273-289
Salia, Samuel
05cdade3-650f-4c27-a0e8-544c0af698d5
Hussain, Javed
ebecb21e-08ba-42c1-a401-ab7aa52e6975
Tingbani, Ishmael
e6b2741a-d792-4adf-84cc-a2f64d5545ca
Kolade, Oluwaseun
d1f01a01-6a89-44c6-91c0-763c4713e130
2018
Salia, Samuel
05cdade3-650f-4c27-a0e8-544c0af698d5
Hussain, Javed
ebecb21e-08ba-42c1-a401-ab7aa52e6975
Tingbani, Ishmael
e6b2741a-d792-4adf-84cc-a2f64d5545ca
Kolade, Oluwaseun
d1f01a01-6a89-44c6-91c0-763c4713e130
Salia, Samuel, Hussain, Javed, Tingbani, Ishmael and Kolade, Oluwaseun
(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), .
(doi:10.1108/IJEBR-04-2017-0114).
Abstract
Purpose
Against the background of growing concerns that development interventions can sometimes be a zero sum game, the purpose of this paper is to examine the unintended consequences of microfinance for women empowerment in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs a participatory mixed-method approach including household questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews to investigate the dynamics of microfinance effects on women in communities of different vulnerability status in Ghana.
Findings
The results of hierarchical regression, triadic closure and thematic analyses demonstrate that the economic benefits of microfinance for women is also directly associated with conflicts amongst spouses, girl child labour, polygyny and the neglect of perceived female domestic responsibilities due to women’s devotion to their enterprises.
Originality/value
In the light of limited empirical evidence on potentially negative impacts of women empowerment interventions in Africa, this paper fills a critical gap in knowledge that will enable NGOs, policy makers and other stakeholders to design and implement more effective interventions that mitigate undesirable consequences.
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 23 August 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 8 January 2018
Published date: 2018
Keywords:
Microfinance, Ghana, Unintended consequences, Women empowerment
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 443848
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/443848
ISSN: 1355-2554
PURE UUID: 6b3273ff-f6b5-482a-987c-9a38b2da1318
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 14 Sep 2020 16:37
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:02
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Contributors
Author:
Samuel Salia
Author:
Javed Hussain
Author:
Oluwaseun Kolade
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