International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR)

Women’s Empowerment Through the Lens of Pierre Bourdieu: Capital, Habitus and Field

This paper explores empowerment through the theoretical lens of Pierre Bourdieu’s key concepts of capital, habitus and field. By using existing literature, it examines how access to different forms of capital addressed by the Bourdieu such as social, economic, cultural and symbolic affects women agency in the field of education, family and governance and generally in society. Women empowerment is an important subject matter in sociology and in development studies as it shows ongoing efforts to achieve equality in genders and social justice. By applying Bourdieu key concepts, the paper highlights holistic framework to understand women empowerment as a process that is shaped by intersecting capitals and structural inequalities. Furthermore, it also looks deep into the sociological concept of gender transformation how women navigate, resist and reconfigure dominant power relations. Overall, by linking Bourdieu’s theoretical framework to study empowerment, this paper also contributes to a sociological understanding of gender transformation.