Understanding Gendered Empowerment Through a Government-run Microfinance Programme: The case of Stree Shakti in Karnataka

The report indicated a widespread stagnation of women’s work participation in poorer districts, a narrowing of their work, income, prospects and opportunities, growing wage differentials between men and women and rising regional inequality in the state (Karnataka HDR, 2005). In response, the strategy taken by the Government of Karnataka (GoK) included several measures, prominent among which was a strong emphasis on the SHG model, a clear and focused targeting of poor, Dalit, and tribal women, a focus on regional disparities in poverty levels in the state, especially in the districts of Hyderabad-Karnataka and Bombay-Karnataka.