{"title":"Women online: A study of Common Service Centres in India using a capability approach","authors":"Meenakshi Rajeev, Supriya Bhandarkar","doi":"10.1002/app5.360","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Income-generating activities by women are an effective means of reducing gender-based deprivation and disparities. In the constrained familial and community settings of developing economies, online platforms can be an appropriate means for women to carry out economic activities. In this context, important initiatives taken by the Government of India, such as the Common Service Centres scheme, are worth studying. This paper critically evaluates such revolutionary online platform–based entrepreneurial initiatives using the capability approach developed by Amartya Sen. We examine through case studies how women-run businesses use online platforms and what determines their success, inputs, capabilities, and conversion factors. Further, national enterprise-level data from Indiaʼs National Sample Survey Office are analysed to show that states with a higher level of gender inequality are also the regions with a lower level of information and communications technology usage by women-run enterprises.</p>","PeriodicalId":45839,"journal":{"name":"Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies","volume":"9 3","pages":"268-287"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2022-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/app5.360","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/app5.360","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"AREA STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Income-generating activities by women are an effective means of reducing gender-based deprivation and disparities. In the constrained familial and community settings of developing economies, online platforms can be an appropriate means for women to carry out economic activities. In this context, important initiatives taken by the Government of India, such as the Common Service Centres scheme, are worth studying. This paper critically evaluates such revolutionary online platform–based entrepreneurial initiatives using the capability approach developed by Amartya Sen. We examine through case studies how women-run businesses use online platforms and what determines their success, inputs, capabilities, and conversion factors. Further, national enterprise-level data from Indiaʼs National Sample Survey Office are analysed to show that states with a higher level of gender inequality are also the regions with a lower level of information and communications technology usage by women-run enterprises.
期刊介绍:
Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies is the flagship journal of the Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University. It is a peer-reviewed journal that targets research in policy studies in Australia, Asia and the Pacific, across a discipline focus that includes economics, political science, governance, development and the environment. Specific themes of recent interest include health and education, aid, migration, inequality, poverty reduction, energy, climate and the environment, food policy, public administration, the role of the private sector in public policy, trade, foreign policy, natural resource management and development policy. Papers on a range of topics that speak to various disciplines, the region and policy makers are encouraged. The goal of the journal is to break down barriers across disciplines, and generate policy impact. Submissions will be reviewed on the basis of content, policy relevance and readability.