Empowerment of Rural and Urban Women in West Bengal A Case Study in Birbhum District

Abstract

Over 200 million women are employed across all industry sectors, with half of this number in developing countries. Their work makes a major contribution to economic progress [1] [6][7][8][9]. Previously they were low-skill and poorly paid. But today we see that the creativity and the talents of all women are an invaluable resource, which can and should be developed both for their own self-realization and for the benefit of society. Women have traditionally played an important role in the small and medium scale enterprise sector. Improving their efficiency and introducing new techniques can therefore yield large returns to women in terms of income and job creation. Women empowerment also helps to reduce poverty in our country by making women economically independent. Women empowerment thus helps in national development. The researcher expects that the findings of the study would shed light on the scenario of women empowerment in the district of Birbhum, West Bengal.