Leadership: Determinant of Women Empowerment

evelopment is a phenomenon that is taking place in all walks of life. It aims at improving the quality of life (e.g. increasing access to education, health, sanitation and other basic needs) of all people regardless of their sex, colour or caste. For the process of development to be more efficient and effective, both women and men should equally participate in the decisions and processes that shape their lives. However, women being considered as a marginalized group in societies around the world, contribute very little to the process of development. One of the policy approaches that can help women contribute equally and more efficiently to development is the empowerment approach. This approach is seen as a viable policy approach for women in development. Empowerment is the most recent policy approach to women in development. It takes into account not only both the practical and strategic gender needs of women but also recognizes their role in Empowerment is a concept that is of equal importance to both men and women. This idea of sharing power is not a concept which is unique to men or women alone. In fact, it is a concept that is touted and desired by all. However, having said this, issues surrounding women in leadership and in the workforce, are seemingly defined by gender at times. Empowerment is the focus of a great and rather interesting role. Empowerment, simply, is the idea of sharing power, of truly giving it away. Thought of in a simple manner, empowerment is the leader giving someone powers to be used on his behalf. And yet, there is much more to this idea, which also involves high degrees of trust and enablement. Women in the workforce are a reality, and empowerment works. What are the strategies to empower women with success? First, may be to start with creating structures that work for women; this might include flexible schedules or time/ job sharing and many more . Structures that are friendly will create opportunities for all. More often than not, if the opportunities are there, women will certainly follow and seek those out. Secondly, provide the needed training and resources. Thirdly and finally, create a culture of respect and leaders who create culture that respect all employees usually have little issues with gender conflicts, as the culture is based on respect with dignity of human value. The present issues of women will probably be the issues of tomorrow. However, the intensity of these issues will be different. This is because it will take time to see that women are great contributors to the workforce, are assets of great value to the organization, and that when we, as leaders, take the time to empower women, we are creating teamsdepartmentsorganizations, that are rich in culture, diversity and time. D