Empowering indigenous women in Guatemala– A qualitative study of the indigenous women’s ability to empowerthemselves in the department of Sololá, Guatemala

Abstract: Empowerment is a fundamental human right. The indigenous women in Guatemala, however, sufferfrom both gender and racial discrimination, which through history have un-empowered them. Usinga qualitative methodology, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 indigenous Guatemalanwomen to examine the conditions these women face in the process of empowering themselves. Inorder to aid the collection and analysis of the data, we developed a theoretical model of empowermentconsisting of the following empowering components: economic capacity, human capital, socialcapital, gender equality, political influence, self-esteem, and awareness. The empirical results showthat all components of the model, indeed, influence the empowerment of our respondents in the study.The challenges that these women face are related to gender inequalities, discrimination, corruption,economic scarcity, and dependency on others. To facilitate their empowerment, the women currentlyuse formal networks to start businesses and achieve greater awareness about their life situation andtheir rights as women. We conclude that reduction in gender discrimination, access to healthcare,possibilities to education, and economic independency are necessary in combination with supportfrom the government and NGOs in order to empower the indigenous women in Guatemala.