Theorizing the Phenomenon of Women Empowerment in a Course to Discover the Purpose of Life for Marginalized Women in India—Evidence from Phool

Abstract

The present study attempts to theorize the phenomenon of empowerment of marginalized women in the context of social enterprises involved in sustainable business practices. To extract the deeper meaning of empowerment of such women, an inductive process using Gioia’s method was employed by interviewing 13 marginalized women working in the social enterprise ‘Phool’. The venture is involved in recycling sacred floral waste into incense sticks, organic fertilizers, and other sustainable packaging solutions. The findings of the study were built on the Social Identity Theory, which emphasizes the fundamental need to be a part of social groups. Our findings suggest that for marginalized women, empowerment manifests in dignity and honour, economic sovereignty and social admittance and embracement. The study contributes to the extant literature on women’s empowerment by intersecting with the phenomenon of marginalization in the context of social enterprise and explains how marginalized women experience empowerment at work.