Sukanya Patwardhan

Jade Global Software Pvt Ltd, India

Title: Women Empowerment in Indian slum areas by applying Amartya Sen Capability Approach : Case Study of Annapurna Pariwar - a microfinance organization

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Biography

Sukanya Patwardhan is a versatile Human-resource / Learning and Development professional and known as an innovator and thought leader with strong execution and collaboration ability across diverse cultures and working with global senior leadership teams.

Her professional career has spanned a little over 30 years in various top global corporations in global leadership roles : SKF Bearings, Cummins ltd, IBM and, the Tata Group handling key assignments for business results.

She has completed her master’s in chemistry, research in Materials Science, and then chose a career in human resources due to her innate passion for people development. She graduated with a gold medal in Human Resource Management from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. She has completed her master’s degree in Sustainability Leadership from Cambridge University, U.K. with distinction, a significant achievement by Global standards.

Sukanya has been working as a coach globally in her various roles earlier and now. She was a practice head for coaching, at the Tata Global Leadership Development Centre where she coached several executives.

She is recognised with several national and international awards to name a few: Global top coach award, Remarkable Working Women’s award, Global leader in Diversity and Inclusion, Prestigious fellowship by Department of Science and Technology, India, Scholarship by Government of Japan, Scholarship by Rotary International to travel to Australia and has several international publications to her credit. She is regularly invited to speak at the national and international forums.

She is currently working as a Vice President -Learning and Organisational Development at Jade Global Software Ltd, a Silicon Valley-US based MNC specialising in high tech IT Services company.

Sukanya is interested in reading, music, nature walk, physical and emotional fitness and passionately works as a Career, Performance, and life coach. She is keenly interested in contributing to the well-being of the society, hence has got herself certified as an advanced level coach in neuroscience and neuroplasticity and is sought after globally. She provides her coaching services to corporates, professionals and to anyone who wants to create a life of their dreams with positive results.

Abstract

AnnapurnaPariwar (AP) is a group of five developmentorganizations working in Pune and Mumbai, India since 1993 covering 1000 slums,with membership of 62,717 women borrowers. Their main aim is to empower poor women in urban slums andtheir families through an integrated model of microfinance (micro:credit, life insurance, asset insurance, health insurance, savings, andpensions) and supporting social services. This model has emerged over timethrough a collaborative understanding of its borrowers' needs.

Thisresearch seeks to understand the extent of women's empowerment and its mostimportant aspects through AP's needs-based integrated model and was approachedusing Professor Amartya Sen's capability approach and framework, and list ofcapabilities based on Robeyns’ Capability Approach.

Ninetypercent of the participants in this study experienced empowerment through theirassociation with Annapurna Pariwar.  Thisresearch reveals that women's empowerment at AP is a cyclical process whereseveral interdependent agency loops lead to achievements/functionings viacapability expansion.  These functioningsare collectively achieved by AP Borrowers, Staff and Leadership.  They feed into each other leading to anunderstanding of emerging needs and addressing them to further facilitatewomen's empowerment.  This cycle at APhas become the foundation for women’s empowerment, leading to povertyalleviation, advancing gender equality, a better quality of life for membersand member families, thereby enriching their community.