Women Social Entrepreneurs as Agents of Change: A Study of Rural Punjab

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18195520

Atinder Pal Kaur¹, Gaganpreet Kaur², and Anil Kumar³ (Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab^1,2 and Scientist (Horticulture), RRS, Abohar, Punjab³)

Social entrepreneurial activities embedded for social purposes remain beneficial for the whole community. Such social entrepreneurial activities have been characterised and are more gender-focused, especially towards women. To understand the role of women in social entrepreneurial activities, this study was initiated in the Abhor district of Punjab. In a theoretical sense, the present study is based on a qualitative and narrative approach. The study is based on the life stories of four women who work as social change agents. Three case studies of farming women who started working in their farming fields, initiated their processing units and generated employment opportunities for the village women. The fourth case study is of a woman who established her pickle-making unit and gave employment opportunities to the village women to earn their livelihood. The study revealed that women shifted their realm from the private to the public sphere, boosting their confidence and increasing participation in the decision-making process. It also increased women’s mobility and economic well-being, which caused their presence in society. The women become more active and expressive in a patriarchal household setup. However, women still face various challenges to increase their visibility in society and at the family level that need to be given consideration. This study will help policymakers and NGOs to curb gender discrimination and poverty-related problems using entrepreneurial activities.