Empowering Progress: Evaluating the Mediating Role of Gender Equality in the Socio-economic Development of Women

Abstract

Women's empowerment is central to inclusive development. But structural and institutional barriers continue to restrict women's access to opportunities, resources, and decision-making in India. This research examines how four key dimensions of empowerment—social, psychological, political, and economic—shape the socio-economic development of women within the IT & ITES sector, a major organized and fast-growing industry in India. The research further explores the mediating role of Gender Equality (GE) as a transformative mediator in strengthening these empowerment-development relationships. The study uses a sample of 502 employees across IT & ITES hubs in Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, and Jaipur. It applies variance-based structural equational modelling PLS-SEM to test the proposed theoretical model. The findings reveal that all four empowerment dimensions significantly contribute to women's socio-economic development. The social empowerment showing the strongest effect.