How Self-Help Groups Empower Women: Evidence from Community-Based Social Enterprises in Southern Philippines

Abstract

Empowering women remains a central concern in the development agenda of the Global South. While development organizations in the Southern Philippines are increasingly using Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to advance women’s empowerment, empirical evidence remains scarce. This paper examines the empowerment status and experiences of women in community-based social enterprises (CBSEs), a scaled-up form of SHGs, using a multidimensional framework that includes economic, social, psychological, and political dimensions, and a dual analytical lens that views empowerment as both an instrumental process and a normative goal. The study used a mixed-methods design and conducted a cross-sectional survey of 310 members of 12 CBSEs in the provinces of North Cotabato, Maguindanao del Sur, and Maguindanao del Norte in the Southern Philippines. Results indicate that while CBSEs had provided women with access to livelihood opportunities, their economic gains remained modest and had only marginally reduced their financial vulnerability. On the social empowerment dimension, CBSEs enhanced women’s social networks and mutual support systems, although their self-confidence remained low. Moreover, CBSEs were viewed as improving women’s psychological empowerment through helping reduce their tolerance to domestic violence, but their ability to exert their influence remained constrained. On the political dimension, women reported greater understanding of their rights; however, their decision-making power, especially within the household, remained restricted. The findings revealed that while the instrumental process of empowerment is evident among women members of CBSEs, normative goals appear to be marginal across domains. This study demonstrates the need to institutionalize context-responsive and inclusive ecosystems of support mechanisms for CBSEs as platforms for women’s