From finance to empowerment and happiness: an analysis of women’s participation in self-help groups

Abstract

The study investigates the bidirectional relationship between finance functions – finance procurement and utilization – and economic empowerment among women’s Self-Help Group (SHG) members, along with examining the interrelated dynamics that influence their happiness. Using a SEM-ANN methodology in Python on 380 SHG members in Assam, it was found that finance procurement and utilization functions significantly influence economic empowerment, which in turn positively affects happiness. Conversely, empowered women were found to engage more actively in financial functions, indicating a mutually reinforcing cycle. The ANN model identified acting on one’s own decisions, borrowing institutional loans, and managing member defaults as the strongest predictors of happiness. The study provides evidence of how financial agency and empowerment intertwine to improve women’s happiness, challenges linear models of empowerment, and calls for more integrated, capability-driven SHG interventions.