Impact of Self-Help Groups on the Economic Empowerment of Scheduled Caste Women: An Empirical Study

Abstract

Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have become an important institutional mechanism for promoting financial inclusion, livelihood development and women’s empowerment in India. Their significance is particularly relevant for Scheduled Caste (SC) women, who often experience the combined effects of poverty, social exclusion, limited access to formal credit and restricted economic opportunities. This study examines the impact of SHG participation on the economic empowerment of Scheduled Caste women in Telangana. The empirical analysis is based on a sample of 120 SC women SHG members selected from rural areas of Telangana. The results show that SHG membership has contributed favourably to regular savings, access to institutional credit, income generation, household financial decision-making and ownership of productive assets. The analysis additionally suggests that women with longer SHG membership tend to report greater levels of economic empowerment. However, constraints, for example, inadequate market access, limited entrepreneurial skills, small enterprise scale, dependence on family members for major financial decisions, and insufficient access to larger loans continue to limit SHGs' transformational potential. The study shows that SHGs can effectively strengthen the economic position of SC women when skills, market linkages, digital financial literacy, and institutional support complement credit.