How Do Self-Help Groups in Rural Uttar Pradesh Influence the Transition of Dalit Women from Household Labor to Micro-Entrepreneurship?

This paper discusses the role of self-help groups (SHGs) in rural Uttar Pradesh in changing the experience of Dalit (a term attributed to Jyotirao Phule denoting those outside the Indian caste system and stigmatized as “untouchables”) women as unpaid or low-paid household and caste-bound labor to micro-entrepreneurship. It contends that SHGs have the potential to forge a mid-ground institutional support for women moving beyond domestic labor, informal wage reliance, and autonomy by integrating savings, credit, peer accountability, state programs, skill exposure and collective identity. Nevertheless, the transition is not automatic or totally economic. In the case of Dalit women, caste status, gendered mobility, household bargaining power, access to local markets, landlessness, education, mediation of banks and power relations at the village level influence entrepreneurship. Based on a survey of the literature, government material and policy data, the paper demonstrates that SHGs facilitate financial inclusion and social confidence, although their potential to transform is limited in areas where caste hierarchies inhibit market access and power.