The Impact of Microcredit on Women’s Empowerment in Anuradhapura District

Abstract

Promote gender equality and empower women is one of the Millennium Development Goals of Sri Lanka and microfinance NGOs provide credit facilities to empower women. So the study was conducted to examine the impact of microcredit on women's empowerment in the Anuradhapura district. For this purpose, women who received credit, living in Anuradhapura, Thirappane, Thambuththegama, Horowpothana and Kekirawa divisional secretarial divisions of Anuradhapura were selected for sample using random sampling technique. The study was quantitative in nature and the survey method was applied. A structured questionnaire and interviews were used to collect relevant data from women respondents. Women respondents who engaged with microcredit were divided into two groups as control and treatment by using duration with microcredit as proxy, and 121 and 116 questionnaires are brought forward for the control group and treatment group respectively. The concept microcredit is analyzed by using three indicators namely; the amount of loan, loan disbursement and the repayment period. To measure women's empowerment five determinants namely; decision making, mobility, savings, education, and health condition were considered. Correlation, independent sample t-test, and binary logistic regression analysis were performed to evaluate the impact of microcredit on women's empowerment by using SPSS software. Finally, the results of the study confirmed that microcredit positively impacts on women's empowerment in the Anuradhapura district. But it needs to improve by providing leadership skills and time management skills. Consequently, non-credit aspects highly influence the success of microcredit programs on women's empowerment.