A study on financial decision making and management among shg women in Kerala

Self Help Groups in India are found to be the vehicles which enable women involved in it to make a safe drive to reach the destination of empowerment. Women in Kerala, while establishing a firm foothold in literacy and social status, seem yet to identify their role and participation in financial descion making and management. Empirical evidence shows that women contribute significantly to the running of family mostly in the form of unpaid work and skills. Hence the present study is an attempt to understand how far financial Decision making and management foster Economic Empowerment among SHG Women. The study surveyed 100 SHG members who involve themselves in income generating ventures in the highest literate district of Kerala, Kottayam. Women are found to make fewer sacrifices and are prone to spend more. It is found that women are found to pawn, sell and lose their own assets rather than engaging in equipping themselves with assets. Thus the SHGs apart from inculcating self employability, encouraging saving habits and skill developments among women should also nurture their women to become financially independent, financially intelligent and financially empowered.