Does Microcredit Empower Urban Poor Women? Evidence from Slums in Dhaka City

A.K.M. Atiqur Rahman and Nadia Binte Mujib (Sithi)

This paper examines the possible impact of the role of microcredit in enhancing empowerment for married women in urban slums of Bangladesh. Based on our primary survey data collection, we constructed the women empowerment index and tried to examine relationship between microcredit and women empowerment. Three indices of women empowerment have been constructed: economic empowerment, non-economic empowerment and overall empowerment. Simple correlation analysis revealed that frequency of microcredit and amount borrowed through microcredit have high correlation with economic empowerment. Regression analysis shows that microcredit has significant positive impact on women empowerment even after controlling for other relevant variables.