Title: Process for empowering rural women: finding a path to benchmark capacity building initiatives

Authors: Sarmistha Apat; Snigdha Mohapatra

Addresses: Birla School of Management, Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar, India ' Birla School of Management, Birla Global University, Bhubaneswar, India

Abstract: The present research examines the role of capacity building in the context of the rural women workforce in an emerging economy. Drawing cues from the extant literature, this research identifies and empirically prioritises and benchmarks the dimensions of capacity building. The findings indicate that funding and microfinance-based programs, skill development initiatives, team building, and group-dynamics activities are the most important dimensions, based on the respondent perceptions. These findings offer newer insights on this under-explored domain to facilitate conceptual development and policy formulation of the process. Consequently, this study evidences the process of vitality towards benchmarking capacity-building initiatives to empower the underprivileged and economically backward sections of women in rural areas.

Keywords: skill development; process; rural women; benchmark; capacity building.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPMB.2024.135758

International Journal of Process Management and Benchmarking, 2024 Vol.16 No.1, pp.126 - 138

Received: 19 Jul 2022
Accepted: 10 Sep 2022
Published online: 04 Jan 2024 *