The present study attempts to theorize the phenomenon of empowerment of marginalized women in the context of social enterprises involved in sustainable business practices. To extract the deeper meaning of empowerment of such women, an inductive process using Gioia’s method was employed by interviewing 13 marginalized women working in the social enterprise ‘Phool’. The venture is involved in recycling sacred floral waste into incense sticks, organic fertilizers, and other sustainable packaging solutions. The findings of the study were built on the Social Identity Theory, which emphasizes the fundamental need to be a part of social groups. Our findings suggest that for marginalized women, empowerment manifests in dignity and honour, economic sovereignty and social admittance and embracement. The study contributes to the extant literature on women’s empowerment by intersecting with the phenomenon of marginalization in the context of social enterprise and explains how marginalized women experience empowerment at work.
AllenN. E., LarsenS., TrotterJ. L., & SullivanC. M. (2013). Exploring the core components of an evidence-based community advocacy program for women with abusive partners. Journal of Community Psychology, 41(1), 1–18. 10.1002/jcop.21502
2.
BansalP., & CorleyK. (2012). Publishing in AMJ—Part 7: What’s different about qualitative research?Academy of Management Journal, 55(3), 509–513. 10.5465/amj.2012.4003
3.
BelleD. E. (1983). The impact of poverty on social networks and supports. Marriage and Family Review, 5(4), 89–103. 10.1300/J002v05n04_06
4.
BergP., & FrostA. C. (2005). Dignity at work for low wage, low skill service workers. Relations Industrielles, 60(4), 657–682. 10.7202/012339ar
5.
BoleyB. B., AyscueE., MaruyamaN., & WoosnamK. M. (2017). Gender and empowerment: Assessing discrepancies using the resident empowerment through tourism scale. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 25(1), 113–129. 10.1080/09669582.2016.1177065
6.
BoyceJ. K. (1994). Inequality as a cause of environmental degradation. Ecological Economics, 11(3), 169–178. 10.1016/0921-8009(94)90198-8
7.
BrownL. S. (2004). Feminist paradigms of trauma treatment. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 41(4), 464–471. 10.1037/0033-3204.41.4.464
8.
CrenshawK. (1993). Beyond racism and misogyny: Black feminism and 2 live crew. In MatsudaM. J. (Ed.), Robert W. Gordon, and Margaret Jane Radin ~Eds!, words that wound: Critical race theory, assaultive speech, and the first amendment (pp. 111–132). Westview Press.
9.
CreswellJ. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed). Sage Publications.
10.
DasguptaS., & AgarwalN. (2021). Managing non-sewered sanitation for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 in India. In TiefenbacherJohn P. (Ed), Environmental management-pollution, habitat, ecology, and sustainability. IntechOpen.
11.
de BeauvoirS. (1949). The second sex (Vintage classics). Vintage Digital.
12.
DenzinN. K., & LincolnY. S. (2005). The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
13.
EllemersN. (2022, November29). Social identity theory. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-identity-theory
14.
FisherG. S., & HotchkissA. (2008). A model of occupational empowerment for marginalized populations in community environment. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 22(1), 55–71.
15.
FosseyE., HarveyC., McdermottF., & DavidsonL. (2002). Understanding and evaluating qualitative research. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 36(6), 717–732. 10.1046/j.1440-1614.2002.01100.x
16.
FriedanB. (1963). The feminine mystique. Norton.
17.
GautamD. K., & Bhandari GhimireS. (2017). Psychological empowerment of employees for competitive advantages: An empirical study of Nepalese service sector. International Journal of Law and Management, 59(4), 466–488. 10.1108/IJLMA-03-2016-0035
18.
GioiaD. A., CorleyK. G., & HamiltonA. L. (2013). Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive research: Notes on the Gioia methodology. Organizational Research Methods, 16(1), 15–31. 10.1177/1094428112452151
19.
GlaserB., & StraussA. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine Publishing Company.
20.
GoulovitchA., BoberC., AlotaibiR., & MunshiS. (2020). Empowering women at work: Government laws and policies for gender equality, Retrieved, 5June2023, from https://www.ilo.org/empent/Publications/WCMS_773233/lang--en/index.htm. International Labour Organization.
21.
HoggM. A. (2016). Social identity theory. In Understanding peace and conflict through social identity theory (pp. 3–17). 10.1007/978-3-319-29869-6_1
22.
HooksB. (1984). Feminist theory: From margin to center. South End Press.
23.
IslamS. N., & WinkelJ. (2017). Climate Change and Social Inequality. Department of economic and social affairs. Working Paper no. 152.1.
24.
JaiswalA., GuptaS., & PrasannaS. (2022). Theorizing employee stress, well-being, resilience and boundary management in the context of forced work from home during COVID-19. South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 11(2), 86–104. 10.1177/22779779221100281
25.
JakimowT., & KilbyP. (2006). Empowering women: A critique of the blueprint for self-help groups in India. Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 13(3), 375–400. 10.1177/097152150601300303
26.
JaspalR. (2011). Caste, social stigma and identity processes. Psychology and Developing Societies, 23(1), 27–62. 10.1177/097133361002300102
27.
KabeerN. (2001). The conditions and consequences of choice: Reflections on the measurement of women’s empowerment. United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.
28.
KabeerN. (Ed.). (2001). Discussing women’s empowerment: Theory and practice: Sida studies (pp. 20–27). Novum Grafiska.
29.
Keung WongD. F., LiC. Y., & SongH. X. (2007). Rural migrant workers in urban China: Living a marginalised life. International Journal of Social Welfare, 16(1), 32–40. 10.1111/j.1468-2397.2007.00475.x
30.
KorhonenJ., HonkasaloA., & SeppäläJ. (2018). Circular economy: The concept and its limitations. Ecological Economics, 143, 37–46. 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.06.041
31.
LaeisG. C. M., & LemkeS. (2016). Social entrepreneurship in tourism: Applying sustainable livelihoods approaches. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(6), 1076–1093. 10.1108/IJCHM-05-2014-0235
32.
LashleyC. (1999). Employee empowerment in services: A framework for analysis. Personnel Review, 28(3), 169–191. 10.1108/00483489910264570
MarkidesC. C., & WilliamsonP. J. (1994). Related diversification, core competences and corporate performance. Strategic Management Journal, 15(S2), 149–165. 10.1002/smj.4250151010
35.
MerriamS. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education: Revised and expanded from case study research in education. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
36.
MisraJ. K. (2006). Empowerment of women in India. Indian Journal of Political Science, 67(4), 867–878.
37.
MishraS., & DeyA. K. (2022). Understanding and identifying ‘themes’ in qualitative case study research. South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 11(3), 187–192. 10.1177/22779779221134659
38.
MowatJ. G. (2015). Towards a new conceptualisation of marginalisation. European Educational Research Journal, 14(5), 454–476. 10.1177/1474904115589864
39.
MustafaE., & BonA. T. (2012). Role of employee empowerment in organization performance: A review. Research Journal of Social Science & Management (RJSSM), 2(6), 79–83. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2199748
40.
NasutionS. N. (2016). Feminism study on marginalized women in the effort of empowerment. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Culture, 2(3), 119–124. 10.21744/ijllc.v2i3.258
41.
National policy for the empowerment of women (NPEM). (2001). https://wcd.nic.in/womendevelopment/national-policy-women-empowerment, Retrieved 6/9/2023. Ministry of Women and Child Development.
42.
PBL. (2019). Opportunities for a circular economy. Accessed using. Retrieved 7September2023, from https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/phool.co. https://phool.co/
43.
RamusT., & VaccaroA. (2017). Stakeholders matter: How social enterprises address mission drift. Journal of Business Ethics, 143(2), 307–322. 10.1007/s10551-014-2353-y
44.
SavitzA. (2013). The triple bottom line: How today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success-and how you can too. John Wiley & Sons.
45.
SenA. (1980). Equality of what? In McMurrinS. (Ed.), Tanner lectures on human values. Cambridge University Press.
46.
ShahidM. (2015). Manual scavenging: Issues of caste, culture and violence. Social Change, 45(2), 242–255. 10.1177/0049085715574187
47.
ShankarS., & SwaroopK. (2021). Manual scavenging in India: The banality of an everyday crime. CASTE/A Global Journal on Social Exclusion, 2(1), 67–76. 10.26812/caste.v2i1.299
48.
SobandeF., FearfullA., & BrownlieD. (2020). Resisting media marginalisation: Black women’s digital content and collectivity. Consumption Markets and Culture, 23(5), 413–428. 10.1080/10253866.2019.1571491
49.
StakeR. E. (2005). Qualitative case studies. In DenzinN. K. & LincolnY. S. (Eds.). The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 443-466). Sage Publications.
50.
TyagiP., & ShahH. (2018). Impact of structural empowerment on organisational performance: ‘empowerment-HR’ interface. International Journal of Intelligent Enterprise, 5(4), 365–384. 10.1504/IJIE.2018.095724
51.
United Nations climate change. (n.d.). Retrieved from UN Climate Action Awards: Retrieved from-. https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/women-for-results/phool. Retrieved 8/4/2023
52.
UpadhyayD.TyagiP., GrimaS., BalusamyB. (2022). PHOOL—Sustainability of the Ganges through empowering women: A brighter future for the next generations of Indian children; A case study with teaching notes. In YerdelenB. K., ElbeyoğluK., SirkeciO., IşıkçıY. M., GrimaS., & Dalli GonziR. E. (Eds.), Being child in a global world (pp. 219-260). Emerald Publishing.
53.
ValcourM. (2014). The power of dignity in the workplace. Harvard Business Review.
54.
VickersI., & LyonF. (2014). Beyond green niches? Growth strategies of environmentally motivated social enterprises. International Small Business Journal, 32(4), 449–470. 10.1177/0266242612457700
55.
WomenU. N. (2018). Facts and figures: Economic empowerment. Last updated, July.
56.
YinR. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and method (3rd ed). Sage Publications.
57.
ZhaoM., & HanJ. (2020). Tensions and risks of social enterprises’ scaling strategies: The case of microfinance institutions in China. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 11(2), 134–154. 10.1080/19420676.2019.1604404
