Microfinance Institutions as a Strategic Tool to Enhance Women’s Career Development in Pakistan

Introduction

Women’s career development is crucial to achieving economic growth (Nasir & Farooqi, 2016) as they are playing a significant role in boosting the economy of every country (Ekpe, Mat, & Razak, 2010). In this regard, microfinance institutions are playing a key role in women’s career development by increasing their social and economic well-being through the provision of various services. Recently, microfinance funding has been increased to promote small-scale businesses (micro-enterprises) globally (Saravanan & Dash, 2017). Women’s micro-enterprises refers to micro-enterprises run by women which has important role in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of various countries. Significantly, the contribution of women to GDP through micro-enterprises is exceptional, particularly in developed countries (Hammawa & Hashim, 2015). For instance, of the total GDP of the USA, women contribute 23% to 98%, thus boosting the economy. They contribute USD 3 trillion to GDP and create job opportunities for 23 million people (Ernst & Young, 2010; Global Entrepreneurship Monitor [GEM], 2013). Moreover, in the case of Malaysia, women’s contribution to the GDP is 44%, and 56% to total employment (Evbuomwan, Ikpi, Okoruwa, & Akinyosoye, 2012; Norizaton, Abdul Halim, & Chong, 2011; SMEDAN, 2012). These figures show that the participation of women in the economy is crucial in any country.

However, the situation is completely different in most developing countries, particularly in Pakistan where the economic contribution of women is meager due to societal discrimination and high levels of poverty and unemployment (Ekpe et al., 2010). Women’s contribution to the Pakistani economy is approximately 25% to 30% (Ul-Hameed, Mohammad, & Shahar, 2018), showing that women’s career development in Pakistan is languishing far behind the levels elsewhere. Although many institutes such as microfinance institutes and Non-Profit Organizations (NGOs) are working on women’s empowerment, most women remain poor and live in vulnerable conditions (Gangadhar & Malyadri, 2015). Furthermore, with 70% of those considered as living in poverty being female, women constitute one of the most vulnerable sections of the population worldwide (Kabeer, 2012). Despite their significant contributions to the economies of developed countries, they are still underestimated in developing countries.

These are the motivating factors for this study. First, as mentioned above, Pakistani women’s contribution to economic development is lower than in other countries. Due to poverty and gender discrimination, women’s career development is decreasing. Therefore, this study attempts to develop a framework for women’s career development with the support of microfinance institutions. Second, the other motivating factor of this study is to explore the reasons for the low levels of women’s career development in Pakistan. Though the Pakistani government and microfinance institutions have been working on this issue for decades, the effect on women’s career development has been minimal. Therefore, this study investigated various factors discouraging women’s career development related to vulnerability. Vulnerability includes different factors leading poor people deeper into poverty (Banerjee & Jackson, 2017), including social, economic, environmental and political vulnerabilities which negatively affect women’s empowerment in Pakistan.

In recent decades, microfinance institutions have started to develop strategies to mitigate the effect of vulnerability factors. Therefore, the objective of microfinance institutes is to reduce vulnerability and boost women’s empowerment (Gangadhar & Malyadri, 2015). In this way, they contribute to poor women’s career development activities. In the past decade, microfinance has also played a significant role in addressing various negative conditions related to poor people (Puhazhendi & Badatya, 2002). Thus, microfinance enables the female community to attain a higher level of empowerment and reduces the effects of vulnerability (Herath, Guneratne, & Sanderatne, 2015).

The current study’s key focus is to examine the role of microfinance institutions in women’s career development. This study has the following objectives: 1) To investigate the role of microfinance institution services in women’s career development; 2) To investigate the mediating role of micro-enterprises in women’s career development; 3) To investigate the mediating role of women’s education in women’s career development; and 4) To investigate the moderating role of vulnerability in the relationship between microfinance and women’s career development.

This study is contributing to the current body of knowledge by focusing on different microfinance factors that influence women’s career development. The impact of microfinance institutions and women’s education on women’s career development is rarely examined in the literature, a gap filled by this research study.

Second, women’s career development is not being achieved in Pakistan, even though hundreds of microfinance institutions are working with the prime objective of empowering the female community. This study contributes to the body of literature by providing the answer to this riddle, highlighting how vulnerability is one of the most crucial factors preventing women’s career development. There are doubtlessly many factors that limit women’s career development, but vulnerability is the most crucial, particularly in Asian countries, because the vulnerability factors are more prevalent in the Asian social context. The current study investigates the claim that social vulnerability, environmental vulnerability, economic vulnerability, and political vulnerability are the factors limiting the positive contribution of microfinance institutions to women’s career development. Therefore, this research represents a pioneering study investigating factors limiting women’s career development.

Literature Review

Development can be defined as “increasing the ability of an individual to become development oriented, to make their life choices, and convert their desires into actions as well as outcomes” (Krishna, 2003). Numerous research studies focus on women’s careers in the USA and other European countries. However, these studies have given little consideration to the careers of women in developing countries (Al-Asfour, Tlaiss, Khan, & Rajasekar, 2017). Career development levels are notably low among women in South Asian countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, and Nepal. Due to this, their contribution to economic development is also low as compared to developed countries. There are many factors responsible for the low levels of female career development in South Asian countries but the primary one is gender discrimination, which is widespread due to traditional culture, beliefs, and norms (Cohn, 2000).

Women’s development means equipping women to be economically independent and self-reliant, as well as having positive self-esteem, enabling them to face challenges and contribute to development activities (Kapila, Singla, & Gupta, 2016). In line with the objectives of microfinance institutions, this study focused on the low level of career development among those women who are economically and socially vulnerable because of gender discrimination. In Pakistan, most women live in rural areas, where poverty levels are high. Therefore, developing these women’s careers means reducing the poverty level through various income-generating activities like micro-enterprises, thereby giving them the opportunity to make decisions. Women’s micro-enterprises develop women socially and economically by reducing poverty levels, increasing incomes, and conferring decision-making power, which automatically lead toward women’s career development. Therefore, enterprises development is a very significant way to promote women’s career development by empowering them socially and economically.

A Relational Theory of Risk

A relational theory of risk is a suitable way of analyzing the relationship between vulnerability and women’s development. Vulnerability is defined as the “probability of risk today of being in poverty or to fall into deeper poverty” due to various risky factors which negatively affect the welfare of poor people (World Bank, 2012). An increase in poverty weakens women’s economic and social situation which in turn adversely affects their career development activities. A relational theory of risk comprises three elements: object at risk, a risk object, and a relationship of risk (Boholm & Corvellec, 2011). An object at risk is an object holding some value, while a risk object is any entity threatening the object at risk. Finally, the relationship of an object at risk and a risk object is called a relationship of risk, which is the third element of this theory. The theory equation is given below:

Risk objects are similar to hazards in the sense that it refers to something that is acknowledged as dangerous (Boholm & Corvellec, 2011). However, according to the theory’s assumption, a risk object should be considered dangerous insofar as it may harm the object at risk. In the same direction, vulnerability is also made up of hazards such as natural disasters, climate changes, and any other environmental factors (Banerjee & Jackson, 2017; McEntire, Gilmore Crocker MPH, & Peters, 2010). Hence, in the context of the current study, vulnerability is considered to be a risk object.

On the other hand, the major characteristic of the object at risk is to possess a value that is considered to be at risk (Boholm & Corvellec, 2011) due to a risk object. In the current study, women’s micro-enterprises is considered to be the object at risk. Finally, the relationship of risk refers to the relationship that an observer establishes between the object at risk and a risk object. In this study, the relationship between women’s micro-enterprises and vulnerability is the third element of this theory. In the context of the current study, the equation for this theory is given in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

The theoretical framework of the study showing how microfinance institutions affect women’s career development.

Research Method

Sampling Technique

Area cluster sampling was used to collect the data. The current study did not have a sampling frame; therefore, area cluster sampling was suitable (Sekaran & Bougie, 2013). Moreover, it is also a suitable technique when a population spread across a wide area (Ul-Hameed et al., 2018). As this study covered the whole of Pakistan, area cluster sampling was suitable to cover this population and was implemented as follows

• 1. Pakistan was divided into five clusters based on provinces, namely Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
• 2. Three clusters were selected randomly: These were Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan.
• 3. The sample size of each cluster was selected on the basis of the equation below.

$\[ nɀ = (Nɀ/N) * n \]$

where nɀ = required sample size for each cluster, Nɀ = total population of each cluster, N = total population size in all clusters, and n = total sample size.

The Head office of the Pakistan Microfinance Review was visited to obtain the details of all the female clients in each cluster. The total number of female clients in the selected clusters actively using the various services of microfinance institutions was estimated at approximately 2.7 million. Of these, 1.4 million were in Punjab, 0.9 million in Sindh, and 0.4 million in Balochistan, approximately. As the total sample size for this study is 500, the sample size for each cluster was calculated as follows

• Punjab: nɀ = (1400,000/2700,000) * 500 = 259
• Sindh: nɀ = (900,000/2700,000) * 500 = 167
• Balochistan: nɀ = (400,000/2700,000) * 500 = 74
• 4. Selection of respondents randomly from Punjab (259), Sindh (167), and Balochistan (74).

The selected clusters (Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan) were visited to collect the data. In each cluster, microfinance institutions, including banks and non-government organizations (NGOs), were visited. From these microfinance institutions, lists of respondents were obtained, and respondents were selected randomly from these lists. The respondents were contacted with the help of bank/NGOs employees, and questionnaires were distributed. During the data collection process, the respondents were assured that the response would remain confidential and would be used only for this research study. In this process, different groups of female clients of microfinance institutions were targeted. Generally, microfinance institutions conduct various training sessions for their female clients. Therefore, the data were collected by targeting these groups. This is significant because it provided face-to-face interaction with respondents and allowed the researcher to address any queries raised by the respondents. Thus, 500 questionnaires were distributed, and 274 valid responses were returned (a 54.8% response rate). The details are shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Sample Extraction and Response Rate

Measures

All the measures were adapted from prior studies. The dependent variable, women’s career development, was examined using four measures: economic security, family decision making, mobility, and economic decision making. Hence, in the context of the current study, women’s career development can be defined as the process by which women get more control over the family, social and economic decision-making process, authority to move freely outside the home, and more access to assets as well as microfinance institutions, to take part in income-generating activities. All these measures were adapted from Gangadhar and Malyadri (2015) and Nawaz, Jahanian, and Manzoor (2012). Measures for the independent variables, micro-credit, micro-saving, and micro-insurance and for the first mediating variable, women’s micro-enterprises, were also adapted from Bernard et al. (2016). The measures for the second mediating variable, women’s education, were adapted from Yousefy and Baratali (2011). Finally, the measures for the moderating variable, vulnerability, were adapted from Stewart (2007). Vulnerability was measured on the basis of various environmental, economic, social, and political factors. All the measures are given in Table 2.

Table 2

Measures of Variables

Findings

Measurement model assessment entails the evaluation of validity and reliability with respect to latent constructs (Hair, Hult, Ringle, & Sarstedt, 2017) and involves assessing the relationship between latent constructs and their related items. Constructs validity and reliability are often assessed by average variance extract (AVE) and composite reliability (CR). Moreover, loadings of each indicator on its latent variables are calculated to assess the reliability. Loading should be higher than 0.7 for indicators reliability to be deemed acceptable (Hair et al., 2017). Table 3 (appendix) shows that most of the indicator loadings were higher than 0.7 on their associated constructs, while a few indicators loaded between 0.5 and 0.7. Composite reliability is also used to assess constructs reliability, which should be greater than 0.7 (Hair et al., 2017). Results indicate that the composite reliability of all latent variables is greater than 0.7. These findings indicate that the measurement model is reliable.

Figure 2.

Two-Step PLS Path Modeling Process. Adapted from “The use of partial least squares path modeling in international marketing,” by J. Henseler, C. M. Ringle, and R. R. Sinkovics, 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp. 277–319.

Figure 3.

Confirmatory factor analysis.

Additionally, convergent validity and discriminant validity were also examined for under-study constructs. Average variance extract (AVE) was used to assess convergent validity. The AVEs of reflective constructs should be greater than 0.5 to establish convergent validity (Chin, 2010; Hair et al., 2017). Table 3 (appendix) identifies that the AVEs of constructs were greater than 0.5, which shows that convergent validity is established.

Discriminant validity is the extent to which each latent variable is different from other constructs (Hair et al., 2017). In order to examine the discriminant validity, a “heterotrait–monotrait” (HTMT) ratio was used and this is shown in Table 4 (appendix). Henseler, Ringle, and Sarstedt (2015) suggested a different threshold of 0.9 and 0.85 for HTMT to establish discriminant validity. This study used HTMT_0.90 criterion, and discriminant validity is established as the HTMT ratio below is the critical value of 0.9.

Table 5 shows the results of the structure model assessment and the path analysis conducted to examine the main relationship between the constructs. This study used a bootstrapping procedure to assess the significance of path coefficients. In this study, a t-value of 1.96 was considered to examine the relationship, and relationships having a t-value ≥ 1.96 were supported. Findings of the study revealed that micro-credit, micro-saving, and micro-insurance have significant positive relationships with women’s career development. Women’s micro-enterprises and women’s education also have positive relationships with women’s career development. Moreover, it is found that micro-credit and micro-insurance have positive relationships with women’s micro-enterprises. However, micro-saving has an insignificant relationship with women’s micro-enterprises. For women’s education, there is a significant positive relationship with micro-saving, but only an insignificant relationship with micro-credit and micro-insurance.

Table 5

Structure Equation Modeling (Path Analysis)

This study examined the mediating role of women’s micro-enterprises and women’s education in the relationship between micro-credit, micro-saving, and micro-insurance and women’s career development. Results indicated that women’s micro-enterprises significantly mediates the relationship between micro-credit and women’s career development, and between micro-insurance and women’s career development. In the case of the mediation effect of women’s education, it is found that women’s education mediates the relationship between micro-saving and women’s career development. However, the mediation effect of women’s micro-enterprises between micro-saving and women career development is insignificant. Moreover, the mediation effect of women’s education between micro-credit and micro-insurance is also insignificant. These results are shown in Table 6.

Table 6

Indirect Effects

This study examined the moderating role of vulnerability in the relationship of micro-credit, micro-savings, and micro-insurance with women’s micro-enterprises. Results showed that vulnerability significantly moderates the relationship of micro-credit and women micro-enterprises. This moderation effect is also significant between micro-insurance and women’s micro-enterprises but is insignificant between micro-saving and women’s micro-enterprises. Moderation effect results are shown in Table 7.

Table 7

Interaction Terms

Discussion and Conclusion

The current study was conducted to investigate the role of microfinance institutions in women’s career development. To achieve this objective, three significant microfinance services were considered: micro-credit, micro-saving, and micro-insurance. Moreover, the role of women’s micro-enterprises, women’s education, and vulnerability was also considered in women’s career development.

While analyzing the data against the first objective of the study, it is revealed that microfinance institutions’ services such as micro-credit, micro-saving, and micro-insurance make a significant contribution to women’s career development. In particular, these services have a vital role in decreasing poverty levels and enhancing women’s well-being. Similar to the current study, Gangadhar and Malyadri (2015) found that microfinance institutions enhance women’s status development by increasing their social security, mobility, and decision-making power at a household level and in various economic activities. Various other prior studies carried out in Pakistan also found that microfinance has a positive role in women’s well-being (Idrees, Ilyas, & Cheema, 2012; Muhammad, Shaheen, Naqvi, & Zehra, 2012). Moreover, Nader (2008) conducted a research study on microcredit and the socio-economic well-being of women in Cairo, finding that micro-credit is one of the most significant elements that enhance women’s socio-economic well-being because it significantly improves women’s income and decision-making power (see also Kapila et al., 2016). Other studies conducted in India and Bangladesh also reflect results consistent with this (Akhter, 2018; Bali Swain & Wallentin, 2009; Kumar, Hossain, & Gope, 2015). Herath et al. (2015) carried out research in Sri Lanka and found that credit had a positive impact on women’s status development. Furthermore, other prior studies (see, for example, Amudha et al., 2014; Ashraf et al., 2010; Karlan, Savonitto, Thuysbaert, & Udry, 2017) also validate the results of the current study and found that micro-savings and micro-insurance make an important contribution to women’s status development. Therefore, micro-credit, micro-saving, and micro-insurance increase women’s self-efficacy, which leads to women’s career development (Hackett & Betz, 1981). These findings are also in line with Mayoux’s feminist empowerment theory as discussed in this study.

Figure 4.

Structure equation modeling.

Regarding the second objective of the current study, apart from the direct effect of microfinance institutions on women’s career development, it is revealed that there is also an indirect effect through women’s micro-enterprises. According to Mayoux (2005), credit has a vital role in the development of women’s micro-enterprises, and women’s micro-enterprises increase their income, which in turn plays a vital role in women’s status development. Similar to this study, Bernard et al. (2016) found that micro-credit, micro-saving, and micro-insurance make a significant positive contribution to the success of women’s micro-enterprises, and women’s micro-enterprises have a significant positive effect on women’s career development (Mayoux, 2005). Different researchers who conducted various studies in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India found that micro-credit has a positive effect on women’s micro-enterprises (Bhargavi, 2015; Ferdousi, 2015; Khan, Kanwal, Nabi, & Shah, 2016). Regarding the indirect effect (mediation) of women’s micro-enterprises, it is significant for micro-credit and micro-insurance, indicating that women’s micro-enterprises enhance the positive contribution of micro-credit and micro-insurance to women’s career development. Therefore, microfinance institutions promote women’s micro-enterprises, which increases the level of women’s career development. Women’s micro-enterprises have a vital contribution in enhancing the positive role of microfinance institutions in women’s career development.

However, the findings of Atmadja, Su, and Sharma (2016) are inconsistent with the present study. The authors found that financial capital (which includes micro-credit, micro-savings, and micro-insurance) has a negative association with women’s micro-enterprises. There could be a number of reasons for the difference between these research findings. For example, sometimes people choose inappropriate places for investment (Mosley & Hulme, 1998), which negatively affects micro-enterprises. Generally, locations considered unsuitable for investment are characterized by various vulnerability factors such as environmental issues and natural disasters, which destroy the micro-enterprise. That is why the findings of a few studies are conflicting regarding the relationship of microfinance factors and micro-enterprises success (see, for example, Atmadja et al., 2016; Buckley, 1997; Rahman, 1999). Thus, in such cases, micro-credit, micro-savings, and micro-insurance have a negative consequence for women’s career development.

Regarding the third objective, microfinance institutions also have an indirect effect on women’s career development through women’s education. It is found that women’s education is highly influential in women’s career development. Similarly, the study carried out by Malik and Courtney (2011) in Pakistan found that education has a vital role in empowering women. Education also has a positive effect on Indian women’s well-being (Banerjee, 2011; Shetty & Hans, 2015). Wirth (2001) identifies access to education and training and development initiatives as major factors contributing to women’s development. The same results were found by other studies, that educational training and development plays a significant role in women’s career development (Brown & Lent, 2004; Elvitigala, Amaratunga, & Haigh, 2006). The same results were found in the case of Bangladesh (Mahbub, 2016). The results of the current study revealed that micro-saving is positively associated with women’s education. As mentioned by Leatherman and Dunford (2010), microfinance institutions promote women’s education through various services like micro-saving. Women generally use these savings for their families’ educational needs, which contributes to women’s well-being. As previously mentioned, this is especially important for Pakistani women because, as in most low-income countries, women find it difficult to avail of educational opportunities (Tazul, 2007) and the current study shows that women’s education plays a significant role in women’s career development. In line with the current study’s findings, Yousefy and Baratali (2011) found that a significant educational level contributes to women’s status development. Therefore, an improvement in women’s education increases women’s career development levels.

The indirect effect (mediation) of women education is only significant in the case of micro-saving. The results demonstrate that women’s education enhances the positive contribution of micro-saving to women’s career development. In the case of microfinance institutions’ services and microenterprises success, Hameed et al. (2017) developed a conceptual framework and suggested that education is a mediating variable as education plays a crucial role in women’s employment and promotion in their working life (Yousefy & Baratali, 2011). Therefore, women’s education plays a key role in enhancing their development through micro-saving. According to the Mallea (1998), “education is an investment that can help to foster economic growth, contribute to personal social development and reduce social inequality. Like any investment, it involves both costs and returns. Some of the returns are monetary, and directly related to the labor market, while others are personal, social, cultural or more broadly economic which belongs to the individual as well as society.” However, in the case of micro-credit and micro-insurance, the indirect effect is not significant. Most of the time, microfinance institutions distribute loans for business activities and insurance to protect micro-enterprises. That is the reason the indirect effects of micro-credit and micro-insurance on women education are not significant.

Finally, concerning the last objective of this study, it is found that vulnerability is one of the factors limiting women’s career development. It has a negative effect on the well-being of people in most developing countries, including Pakistan, Indian, and Bangladesh (Garikipati, 2008). While analyzing the moderating role of vulnerability, it is revealed that vulnerability has a negative effect on the relationship between microfinance services and women’s micro-enterprises. Vulnerability factors such as environmental, social, economic, and political factors negatively affect the relationship between micro-credit and micro-insurance and women’s career development. Vulnerability weakens the positive relationship between micro-credit and women’s micro-enterprises, as highlighted in Figure 5. Moreover, vulnerability also weakens the positive relationship between micro-insurance and women’s micro-enterprises, highlighted in Figure 6. As mentioned by Herath et al. (2015), vulnerability reduces women’s status development because vulnerability itself is the probability of experiencing future loss in welfare (Zhang & Wan, 2006).

Figure 5.

Moderation effect of vulnerability between micro-credit and women micro-enterprise which weaken the relationship.

Figure 6.

Moderation effect of vulnerability between micro-insurance and women micro-enterprises which weakens the relationship.

This situation occurs when poor women get credit from microfinance institutions and invest in a microenterprise. However, these micro-enterprises are then destroyed because of vulnerability factors. These include natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, windstorms, or river erosion; economic factors such as low income and single earning hand; social factors such as the aging process, emotional stress, disability; and political factors such as inappropriate land use by government, community conflict, lack of community cohesiveness, inappropriate resource use by government, lack of economic development, and any other factors related to vulnerability (Stewart, 2007). Moreover, according to Ul-Hameed et al. (2018), vulnerability decreases women’s status development. Additionally, the findings of the current study validate the Relational Theory of Risk. Thus, vulnerability limits the positive contribution of microfinance institutions to women’s career development. These results are also consistent with Banu (2016), who also highlighted how vulnerability decreases human development.

However, in the current study, a few hypotheses (H₂, H₄, H₈, H₁₃, H₁₄, H₁₇, H₁₉) are not supported. For instance, the relationship between micro-credit and women’s education is not supported, and the relationship between micro-saving and women’s micro-enterprises is also not significant. Additionally, the relationship between micro-insurance and women’s education is not supported. The reason behind the rejection of these hypotheses is based on the moderation effect. A moderator is a variable which affects the strength or the direction of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables (Wilken, Jacob, & Prime, 2013). It can also change the relationship between the dependent and independent variables (Sekaran & Bougie, 2013). Therefore, as discussed in the literature, vulnerability reduces the relationship between microfinance institutions and women’s micro-enterprises or women’s education. Additionally, the moderation effect of vulnerability between micro-saving and women’s micro-enterprises is not significant. It is insignificant because micro-saving is generally used to handle vulnerability. It means that micro-saving reduces the effect of vulnerability, as is evident from prior studies that people use their savings to build an asset to mitigate or reduce the effect of future shocks (Hulme, Moore, & Barrientos, 2009). That is why vulnerability does not have any effect on the relationship between micro-saving and women’s micro-enterprises; however, micro-saving does have a significant effect on vulnerability.

In summary, microfinance institutions make a major contribution to boosting women’s career development through services such as micro-credit, micro-savings, and micro-insurance. However, vulnerability has a negative effect. Hence, an increase in the distribution of microfinance services is important to enhance women’s career development. In addition, the promotion of income-generating activities and women’s education is crucial. In addition, the mitigation of various vulnerability issues should not be neglected.

This study has significantly contributed to the existing literature by extending Mayoux’s feminist empowerment theory. This theory claims that microfinance services (credit, saving, insurance) enhance women’s empowerment. However, this statement is not applicable to all situations. In regions where vulnerability factors (social, environmental, economic, political) are prevailing, this theory fails to justify the statement. As proved by the current study, vulnerability factors limit the positive contribution of microfinance institutions to women’s career development. Therefore, this could be added as a limitation of Mayoux’s feminist empowerment theory.

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