Empowerment

Empowerment refers to increasing the political, social or economic strength of individuals.

Many times empowerment refers to members of groups that have been excluded from the decision-making process through social discrimination - for example, through discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender etc.

In economic development, it is an approach based on mobilizing the self-help efforts of the poor, rather than providing them with social welfare.

Empowerment is building confidence on the capacities within individuals.