WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH COLLECTIVE SELF ESTEEM

Collective self-esteem is a concept originating in the field of psychology that describes the aspect of an
individual’s self-image that stems from how the individual interacts with others and the groups that the individual is
a part of. Empowerment is the process of obtaining basic opportunities for marginalized people, either directly by
those people, or through the help of non-marginalized others who share their own access to these opportunities.
Empowerment also includes encouraging, and developing the skills for, self-sufficiency, with a focus on eliminating
the future need for charity or welfare in the individuals of the group. Empowerment is a choice of awareness and
capacity building leading to greater participation, to a greater decision making power and control and
transformation action. (Bhari Josi, 2007, pg.28). Both Self Esteem and Empowerment both has a link between one
and the other and there can be Hypothetical Question setup using these two components like, Increase in Collective
Self Esteem Increase in Empowerment. Women are considered to be Vulnerable or Marginalized but now they have
proved their self esteem through various initiatives. Self Help Groups are considered as a strategy evolved by the
devolving nations to empower women especially rural women to leap from the state of powerlessness to
powerfulness. Empowerment is the expansion of freedom of choice and action. Through Self Help Groups Women
develop their skills and self esteem in various fields and try to live their life independently. A study was conducted
with fifty SHG Women in Tirupattur to know how they were empowered and how far their collective self esteem was
improved. The Researcher used Descriptive Design and Stratified Disproportionate Simple Random Sampling
technique in specific Random Sampling to select the Samples. The data will be analyzed using SPSS (Statistical
Package for Social Science) and various tests like Single frequency, Cross Tabulation and Relationship test will be
used and Interpreted.