Efficient Vol 3 (3) (2020): 908-921 DOI: https://doi.org/10.15294/efficient.v3i3.43511
EFFICIENT
Indonesian Journal of Development Economics
https://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/efficient
Social Entrepreneurship and Woman Empowerment Study
Exploratory for Poverty Alleviation
Lola Kurnia Pitaloka1
, Dwi Puji Astuti2
, Saringatun Mudrikah3
, Ririn Alfianti4
Faculty of Economics, Semarang State University
Permalink/DOI: https://doi.org/10.15294/efficient.v3i3.43511
Received: June 2020 ; Accepted: September 2020 ; Published: December 2020
Abstract
Poverty is still a basic and major problem for all countries, including developing countries. There have been several government efforts undertaken to alleviate poverty but they
have not yielded good results. The idea of social entrepreneurship has been widely applied by many countries in an effort to reduce poverty. Empowering women is one way to
reduce the high unemployment rate because most of the unemployed are women. The purpose of this study was to see the effect of social entrepreneurship and women's
empowerment on poverty alleviation. The research was conducted in Kajeksan Village, Kudus Regency, Central Java with an exploratory quantitative research model where the
aim is to explore deeper ideas on how to alleviate poverty through the existing sample. The sample was calculated using the Slovin formula and obtained 145 poor women. The
sampling technique used random sampling and data collection using a questionnaire. The data that has been collected will be analyzed using SEM with the help of the
WarpPLS analysis tool. The results of this study prove that social entrepreneurship and women's empowerment have a significant effect on poverty alleviation.
Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship, Women's Empowerment, Poverty, Women, Village Residents
Abstrak
Kemiskinan masih menjadi masalah dasar dan besar bagi seluruh negara termasuk pada negara berkembang. Telah ada beberapa upaya pemerintah yang dilakukan untuk
mengentaskan kemiskinan namun ternyata belum juga memberikan hasil yang baik. Gagasan kewirausahaan sosial telah banyak diterapkan banyak negara sebagai upaya
mengurangi penduduk miskin. Memberdayakan perempuan merupakan salah satu cara agar dapat mengurangi tingkat pengangguran yang tinggi karena sebagian besar
pengangguran adalah perempuan. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah melihat pengaruh kewirausahaan sosial dan pemberdayaan perempuan terhadap pengentasan kemiskinan.
Penelitian dilakukan di Desa Kajeksan Kabupaten Kudus, Jawa Tengah dengan model penelitian kuantitatif eksploratori yang mana tujuannya adalah untuk mendalami ide
lebih dalam tentang cara mengentaskan kemiskinan melalui sampel yang ada. Sampel dihitung menggunakan rumus slovin dan didapat 145 perempuan penduduk miskin.
Teknik pengambilan sampel menggunakan random sampling dan pengambilan data menggunakan kuesioner. Data yang sudah terkumpul akan dianalisis menggunakan SEM
dengan bantuan alat analisis WarpPLS. Hasil dari penelitian ini membuktikan bahwa kewirausahaan sosial dan pemberdayaan perempuan berpengaruh signifikan terhadap
pengentasan kemiskinan.
Kata Kunci: Kewirausahaan Sosial, Pemberdayaan Perempuan, Kemiskinan, Perempuan, Penduduk Desa
How to Cite: Pitaloka, L., Astuti, D., Mudrikah, S., & Alfianti, R. (2020). Social Entrepreneurship and Woman
Empowerment Study Exploratory for Poverty Alleviation. Efficient: Indonesian Journal of Development
Economics, 3(3), 908-921. https://doi.org/10.15294/efficient.v3i3.43511
© 2020 Semarang State University. All rights reserved

Correspondence Address:
Address: Building L1, Faculty of Economics,
2nd Floor, UNNES, Semarang
E-mail : lolakp@mail.unnes.ac.id
ISSN 2655-6197
909EFFICIENT Indonesian Journal of Development Economics Vol 3 (3) (2020) : 908-921
INTRODUCTION
Poverty is still a basic problem in
economic development, especially in
developing countries like Indonesia.
Poverty can be defined as the inability or
inability of individuals to fulfill their
basic needs (basic needs) because they are
powerless to access or control economic
resources (Ogundele et al., 2012). Uneven
economic development is one of the most
common causes of poverty. Therefore,
poverty alleviation and equitable development
are very important for all government policies
whoever is in office.
Indonesia is one of the most densely
populated countries in the world. The total
population in Indonesia recorded by BPS
in 2018 was 261,890,900 million people,
which made Indonesia ranked fourth after
China, India and America. This number is
projected to continue to increase every
year. In the release of Bappenas regarding
the 2010-2035 Indonesian Population Projection
report, in 2020 the total population
of Indonesia is predicted to reach 271
million, or an increase of 10 million
from the population in the previous year.
In fact, Bappenas predicts that by 2035
Indonesia's population will reach 300 million
(Katadata, 2017).
The large occupation certainly has a
positive and negative impact. With a large
population, it can certainly be a demographic
bonus to welcome the golden generation of
2045. But the demographic bonus can
actually become a burden and even a
time bomb for the country if it is not
accompanied by an increase in the quality of
human life in it. One of the important issues of
the quality of human life is welfare. The welfare
of human life is currently still assessed in
terms of poverty. The poor population in
Indonesia reached 26.58 million people (10.12%)
in 2018. This poverty number is considered
quite high when viewed from the total
population of Indonesia itself.
The poverty problem in Indonesia is very
complex and needs to be addressed
immediately. The government has a big
responsibility towards its citizens, including
overcoming the existing poverty problem.
However, given the complexity of the
problem of poverty, it is necessary to seek
innovative steps from the citizens
themselves to help the government in alleviating
poverty or at least to reduce poverty.
One of the causes of high poverty is high
unemployment (Alvarez et al., 2015). The
unemployment problem is actually a common
problem that exists in all countries.
Unemployment is no longer a problem that
needs to be highlighted because
unemployment generally occurs due to an
imbalance between job seekers and
employment opportunities. This issue also
occurs in Indonesia and is a serious
problem to deal with because of the high
unemployment rate. The open unemployment
rate (TPT) in 2019 showed a figure of
5.28% which indicated a decline from the
previous year (5.54%). However, the
decline in the unemployment rate was actually
accompanied by an increase in population,
so that the ratio of unemployment to the
total population of Indonesia remained very
high. From these data, the working population
is still dominated by those with elementary
school education and below, amounting to 45.
910 Lola Kurnia Pitaloka et al., Social Entrepreneurship and Woman Empowerment…,
The high unemployment rate in Indonesia
is influenced by the quality of workforce in
Indonesia, which is still far from being
appropriate in terms of qualifications and
competencies. Indonesia currently ranks 110th
out of 187 countries in terms of the human
resource development index released by the
United Nations Development Program. The high
unemployment rate makes poverty alleviation
difficult to achieve if there are no accurate
preventive measures from the government. Real
solutions are needed to reduce social problems
that arise due to limited employment
opportunities.
This condition can get worse due to a
situation of global competition such as the
implementation of the ASEAN Economic
Community which will expose Indonesian
citizens to compete freely with foreign residents.
So higher education graduates in Indonesia need
to be directed and supported to not only become
job seekers but also someone who creates jobs
(job creators).
Furthermore, the problem of poverty
cannot be separated from income inequality.
Even though many residents have worked and
the unemployment problem has been resolved
bit by bit, the problem that followed was a very
tight difference in income. There is a strong
relationship between poverty and income
inequality of citizens (Lateh et al., 2018). Income
inequality usually describes improving economic
growth but still unable to reduce poverty.
Usually it is said that the rich will get richer and
the poor will get poorer.
As an effort to reduce poverty and income
inequality, the government can implement
policy strategies that support the welfare of the
poor. Governments can use effective public
policies by forging partnerships with the private
sector and civil society organizations (World
Bank, 2014). Partnership strategies are important
to do in order to create synergies in economic
development which are expected to be inclusive
of the community. In addition, another
important strategy is to help the poor to
improve their economy by providing
employment opportunities.
Poverty is a social problem that should be
the responsibility of both the government,
private sector and civil society organizations.
The government has a role in presenting
development programs and policies that have
been carried out to spur economic growth.
Basically, the government can do many things to
solve this poverty problem because of its
unlimited ability to access and process power
sources. However, in reality there are several
basic reasons why the government always fails to
solve the existing problems.
First, the government can behave
inefficiently, be slow in acting, vulnerable to
corruption, bureaucracy and inherent individual
interests. Second, the government often has a
good ability to make a policy, but the ability to
execute it is inversely related to the ability to
formulate it.
The failure to solve social problems is not
only experienced by the government but also by
government partners such as the private sector
and civil society organizations. The private
sector is currently required to create a CSR
(Corporate Social Responsibility) program,
especially for companies that do exist in the
middle of public housing. However, it turns out
that this program also has many weaknesses.
CSR itself is a socially responsible business
concept that is carried out with good intentions.
911EFFICIENT Indonesian Journal of Development Economics Vol 3 (3) (2020) : 908-921
However, in practice CSR programs are misused
to seek personal gain for the company. Usually
companies carry out CSR with the aim of
obtaining a positive image as a material for
publication (window dressing).
Meanwhile, civil society organizations or
non-governement organizations (NGOs) have
limitations in their efforts to resolve existing
social problems. The limitations of NGOs are
usually caused by NGOs that are still dependent
on financing issues. NGOs depend on donors or
funding grants. So if NGOs no longer have
donors, the sustainability of solving social
problems will be disrupted. The weaknesses of
the government, private sector and civil society
organizations as well as the increasingly volatile
dynamics of social problems lead to a more
preventive and innovative approach.
One of the ways to overcome social
problems that are currently of great concern to
developing countries, including in Indonesia, is
social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship
is becoming a very interesting phenomenon
today because of its difference from other
general traditional entrepreneurship which only
focuses on material benefits and customer
satisfaction and its significance for people's lives.
Social entrepreneurship sees problems as
opportunities to form a new business model that
is useful to empower the surrounding
community. Social entrepreneurship is the use
of entrepreneurial behavior whose orientation is
more towards the achievement of social goals
and does not prioritize profit acquisition, or still
prioritizes profit acquisition but the profits
obtained are used for social interests (Noruzi et
al., 2010)(Alvarez & Barney, 2014).
Social entrepreneurship is actually no
longer a new phenomenon. This phenomenon
has been around for a long time and is still
growing. But it turns out that the definition of
social entrepreneurship is still being debated
today. This is because the concept of social
entrepreneurship is still confused by all parties,
whether it is a decline from the old
entrepreneurial paradigm or is an independent
field of study. However, the concept of social
entrepreneurship has been widely used in
understanding the study of entrepreneurship in
relation to poverty reduction.
The concept of social entrepreneurship
can be assessed as an extension of the basic
concept of entrepreneurship which has
historically been recognized as an economic
driver, especially in solving social problems.
(Noruzi et al., 2010). In the context of social
entrepreneurship, the value aimed is more on
social values because social entrepreneurship
emphasizes how to create very innovative ideas
in order to solve social problems.
Social entrepreneurship usually combines
the concepts of business, charity and social
movement models to build solutions to social
problems in a sustainable manner and create
social value orders (Caudill et al., 2015). In fact,
the practice of social entrepreneurship has
proven successful in reducing poverty rates
because in practice it has played an
important role by using new approaches to
social ills through new ideas or models
in the form of poverty alleviation, wealth
creation, welfare improvement, environmental
preservation and legal assistance. (Firdaus,
2014). According to (Najafizada & Cohen, 2017),
social entrepreneurship arises as a result of
collective awareness to improve the quality of
life. This collective awareness becomes a link in
order to invite others to improve the quality of
life as well, this is why social entrepreneurship
has an effect on poverty alleviation.
912 Lola Kurnia Pitaloka et al., Social Entrepreneurship and Woman Empowerment…,
The development of free market ideology
and competitive behavior in utilizing resources
spawns the concept of social entrepreneurship in
an effort to overcome the impact of uneven
economic development (Diochon, 2013). The
development of social entrepreneurship in
Indonesia has started to grow, marked by the
rise of workshops on social entrepreneurship,
the establishment of social entrepreneurship
study centers and even courses on social
entrepreneurship on several campuses and the
formation of the Indonesian Entrepreneurship
Association (AKSI) on November 16, 2009. This
phenomenon shows that many parties believe
that that social entrepreneurship is one of the
solutions needed to overcome social problems
that occur in Indonesia.
There is one important factor that is often
overlooked by the government in reducing
poverty, namely the feminist dimension and
gender inequality. So far, poverty has always
displayed the face of women in front.
Research(Alese, 2013)revealed that in a poor
family, women are always the rescue valve for
the family economy. Women are considered as a
diving valve for the family economy due to the
various roles women take in a family, such as (1)
as the manager of family finances; (2) as the
person in charge of all domestic work; (3) as the
breadwinner of the family; and (4) as an
important social network node in terms of social
transfer, especially during critical and crisis
times(Weekly, 2013).
Poverty can be a gender issue because of
the central role of women in the management of
their family's welfare. A dimensional crisis like
what Indonesia is currently experiencing has
resulted in an increase in the price of food and
other basic necessities, the difficulty of clean
water and others, which makes women bear the
heaviest burden. Generally, women in poor
communities always try to escape from the
shackles of economic difficulties and seek a
better economic life in certain forms or methods
by optimally utilizing their potential.
The international commitment emphasizes
the importance of realizing gender equality
and empowering women as an effective
way to reduce poverty and support
sustainable development. The application
of a gender perspective in viewing poverty
is not to rule out the meaning of poverty
experienced by men, but to emphasize that the
poverty experienced by women is specific
so that special handling is needed as well
(Kumar, 2016). A patriarchal culture causes
women to be in a weak bargaining
position. Meanwhile, women's voices in fighting
for their interests are difficult to channel
through formal decision-making mechanisms.
Marginalization, discrimination and exploitation
of women and children are important causes of
the severe poverty problems faced by developing
countries. The application of a gender
perspective in seeing poverty is not to reduce the
meaning of poverty experienced by men, but to
emphasize that the poverty experienced by
women is specific so that special handling is
needed(KHAN, 2016).
Empowerment of women is an effort to
achieve equal roles, access and control of women
and men in all fields of development. So far, the
women's empowerment program carried out by
the government and the community is an effort
to always create the benefits of development for
both men and women. Although the efforts to
create gender equality have been carried out for
a long time, there are still several things and
913EFFICIENT Indonesian Journal of Development Economics Vol 3 (3) (2020) : 908-921
aspects of life that do not yet reflect the
existence of equality between women and men.
Research result (Diochon, 2013) revealed that the
empowerment of women should be made to
alleviate poverty because it has several
important reasons as a reference, namely (1)
women have the same interest in development
and are also users of development products who
have the same rights as men; (2) women also
have special interests for women themselves and
children, which are less than optimal if initiated
by men because they require special sensitivity,
related to the existing daily life, socio-culture;
and (3) empowering and involving women in
development, indirectly also empowering and
transmitting a positive spirit to the next
generation, which in general is closely related to
the figure of the mother.(Kingdom, 2016).
Table 1. Total Population and Population
Density per km2 in All Districts in Kudus
Regency
No. sub-district Total
population
Population
density
1. Kaliwungu 98,675 3,016
2. City 10,094 9,557
3. Teak 111,331 4,242
4. Undo 77,096 1,084
5. Mejobo 79,096 2,151
6. Jekulo 111,331 1,343
7. Bae 75,052 3,218
8. Gebog 106,884 1,941
9. Dawe 110,840 1,291
Source: BPS Kabupaten Kudus
Kudus Regency is one of the districts in
Central Java and is a district with a narrow area
compared to other districts or cities. Kudus
Regency has a population of 871,311 people with a
density level of 2,049 people / km2 and a sex
ratio of 96.908, which means that out of 100
women there are 97 men, it can be concluded
that the population in Kudus Regency is more
women than men. In the table 1 above is the
distribution of the population in each district.
In the table 1 above, we can see that the
largest population is in Jati District, but
population density data is monitored in Kota
District. This is because the area of Jati
Subdistrict is the widest among others and Kota
District is the smallest sub-district so that the
population density is greater. The population
density in the Kota District is accompanied by a
large number of jobs there. Kota Subdistrict is
indeed the heart of Kudus Regency, so it is not
surprising if there are many MSMEs standing
there. However, it seems that the large number
of MSMEs standing there still cannot
accommodate the number of workers in the
Kota District.
The number of workforce in Kudus
Regency in 2019 reached 484,530 with an open
unemployment rate of 18,720 which, if seen,
turns out to be the highest unemployment rate
for men with 11,277. However, the number of
non-labor force that falls into the category of
taking care of the household, women have a
high score, reaching 95,326. This means that
most women in Kudus Regency do not enter the
labor force because their job is to take care of
the household even though they should be
productive in the economy.
Women can play a big part in improving
the family economy and even the state because
women have strong control as the subject of
development. This can be seen from the number
of entrepreneurs in Kudus Regency, which
shows that there are more women, namely
39,472 compared to men, namely 31,529. Here it
can be stated that gender equality is important
914 Lola Kurnia Pitaloka et al., Social Entrepreneurship and Woman Empowerment…,
for further consideration so that the number of
poor people can be reduced in number.
Social entrepreneurship and women's
empowerment are two activities that can be
carried out by the Kudus Regency government
to be able to alleviate poverty in Kudus Regency
because of the principles of its own society. Most
of the population in Kudus Regency is indeed a
businessman because the ancestors of Kudus
Regency have prioritized trading more than
other jobs. It is recorded that 20% of businesses
in Kudus are engaged in social entrepreneurship
and all of them are under the guidance of the
micro, small and medium enterprises. Due to
the large number of women entrepreneurs in
Kudus Regency, the empowerment of women
who have not worked can occur by helping
women. So, the purpose of this study is to see
the effect of social entrepreneurship and
women's empowerment on poverty alleviation in
Kudus Regency.
RESEARCH METHODS
This study uses exploratory quantitative
techniques with the aim of deepening
knowledge and seeking new ideas about the
symptoms of poverty to develop social
entrepreneurship and empower women as an
effort to alleviate poverty. This research was
conducted in Kudus Regency, Central Java and
took Kajeksan Village, Kota District as the
research location. Kota Kecamatan has a high
population density and the number of
businesses established in Kota Kecamatan than
others. However, according to data from the BPS
of Kudus Regency, the number of poor people in
Kajeksan Village, Kota District is still high,
namely 45% compared to other sub-districts.
The highest sex ratio is also found in Kota
Subdistrict, where there are 67% more female
than male population.
The population of this study were 229 poor
women in Kajeksan Village, Kota District. The
sample was calculated using the Slovin formula
and obtained 145 poor women as samples. The
sampling technique uses random sampling so
that the entire population has the opportunity to
become a sample. The sampling technique used
a closed questionnaire with 5 Likert scales. Data
analysis using SEM (Strutural Equation Model)
is assisted by using the WarpPLS analysis tool.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Common method bias is used to account
for errors in measurement because the use of
survey methods can cause bias because different
measurement constructs come from the same
source.
Table 2. Value of Full Collinearity
Variable VIFs
Social Entrepreneurship 1,723
Women empowerment 1,313
Poverty Alleviation 1,690
Source: data processed in 2020
The research model does not experience
construct bias when the VIFs value <3.3.
In the table above we can see that the VIFs
value for all variables is <3.3, so the model
in this study is not biased and can be continued
for analysis. The outer model evaluation is
carried out to construct each indicator from the
existing variables to find out if an error has
occurred. This evaluation includes assessing
convergent validity and composite reliability.
Construction indicator value can be seen
from the combined loadings and cross loadings.
915EFFICIENT Indonesian Journal of Development Economics Vol 3 (3) (2020) : 908-921
Table 3. Loading Factors, P Value, AVE and
Composite Reliability
Item LF P Value AVE CR
Social Entrepreneurship
X1.1 0.860 <0.001
0.663 0.921
X1.2 0.877 <0.001
X1.3 0.850 <0.001
X1.4 0.638 <0.001
X1.5 0.804 <0.001
X1.6 0.831 <0.001
Women empowerment
X2.1 0.659 <0.001
0.665 0.922
X2.2 0.889 <0.001
X2.3 0.912 <0.001
X2.4 0.882 <0.001
X2.5 0.733 <0.001
X2.6 0.786 <0.001
Poverty Alleviation
Y1.1 0.836 <0.001
0.648 0.928
Y1.2 0.836 <0.001
Y1.3 0.807 <0.001
Y1.4 0.822 <0.001
Y1.5 0.793 <0.001
Y1.6 0.749 <0.001
Y1.7 0.786 <0.001
Source: data processed in 2020
Outer model is accepted if the loading
factor value for each indicator shows a number>
0.70. However, acceptance of the loading factor
values <0.70 and> 0.40 can still be considered to
be accepted when the AVE value meets the
criteria, namely> 0.50. The loading factor value
in this research model shows 2 indicators <0.70,
namely the indicator of social entrepreneurship
and women's empowerment variables. However,
both variables have an AVE value> 0.50, so both
indicators are still accepted and do not have to
be eliminated. So that it is stated that this
research model meets convergent validity so
that it can be stated that this research model is
valid and can be continued for analysis.
The research model can be accepted when
it meets convergent validity and composite
reliability. Convergent validity of the model is
seen from the loading factor value of each
indicator and AVE, while the composite
reliability is seen in the composite reliability
coefficients that must meet the criteria, namely>
0.70. Table 3 above shows the requirements for
the composite reliability have been met because
the three variables have a composite reliability
coefficient value> 0.70. Then this research model
is declared reliable and can be analyzed further.
Table 4. Correlation among latent variables and
errors
X1 X2 Y
X1 1,000 <0.001 <0.001
X2 <0.001 1,000 <0.001
Y <0.001 <0.001 1,000
Source: data processed in 2020
Based on the table above, there is a
correlation between all variables in their
diagonal values. All variables have met the
criteria for discriminant validity. So, based on
the results of convergent validity, composite
reliability and discriminant validity, this
research model can be accepted so that the inner
model can be analyzed further. Inner model in
WarpPLS is seen from the fit model and quality
indices that must be met. Good and acceptable
fit and quality indices models are described from
the APC, ARS and AARS values that must be
accepted according to the criteria.
The table below shows the APC, ARS and
AARS values that meet the requirements
because all of them <0.05. Where it can be
916 Lola Kurnia Pitaloka et al., Social Entrepreneurship and Woman Empowerment…,
concluded that the sample in this study is well
distributed and there is no bias between
variables. So that the inner model can be
accepted and continued in hypothesis making.
Table 5. APC, ARS and AARS values
Model
Fit
Criteria
Analysis
results
APC P <0.05 P <0.001
ARS P <0.05 P <0.001
AARS P <0.05 P <0.001
Source: data processed in 2020
Hypothesis testing is seen from the results
and the value of the model that comes out in the
SEM analysis that has been done. The purpose of
this test is to see the direction, relationship and
the magnitude of the coefficient between
variables.
Picture 1. Research Model
Source : Data Processed, 2020
Social Entrepreneurship towards Poverty
Alleviation
The test results below show a positive
direction between social entrepreneurship and
poverty alleviation with a p value <0.001 and a
coefficient value of 0.528. It can be interpreted
that social entrepreneurship has a strong
influence on poverty alleviation. The
relationship with this positive direction means
that when there is a slight increase in the
number of social entrepreneurship, poverty
alleviation programs will increase sharply or are
said to be very successful.
Table 6. Research Model Interpretation Results
Path Coefficient P Value
Social entrepreneurship
towards poverty alleviation
0.528 <0.001
Empowerment of women
in poverty alleviation
0.218 0.003
Source: data processed in 2020
Social entrepreneurship is a form of
combining the concept of entrepreneurship
which prioritizes economic activities that show
the characteristics of an entrepreneur, but the
goals achieved are not only profit-oriented, but
also social goals or values that are not only to
gain profit for themselves but also try to help the
surrounding community. (Luke & Chu, 2013).
This social entrepreneurship can be a way for
someone to be able to make social changes such
as alleviating poverty by means of
entrepreneurship. People are starting to realize
that through social entrepreneurship that is
increasingly developing in society, it can have a
big social impact on society, especially in
alleviating poverty.
Social entrepreneurship here refers to
positive and innovative activities with social
goals in both the non-profit sector, as in
commercial ventures for the purpose of
developing the surrounding social. Social
entrepreneurship that creates innovative
solutions to immediate social problems and
provides the mobilization of ideas, capacities,
917EFFICIENT Indonesian Journal of Development Economics Vol 3 (3) (2020) : 908-921
resources and social arrangements necessary for
sustainable social transformation. An innovative
and entrepreneurial approach to addressing
growing social problems (Ogundele et al., 2012).
Social entrepreneurs offer many reasons to be
hopeful about future poverty alleviation efforts.
With society increasingly turning to business to
help alleviate poverty, many different forms of
social enterprise have emerged in recent years.
The results of this study are supported by
research (Alvord et al., 2004)which also states
that the slightest increase in social
entrepreneurship activity can have a big impact
in reducing poverty. This is because a
strategy in alleviating poverty requires
strategies and innovations that are always
developing every year. The point is not just
strategies that can go one way and are
easy to stall. However, a strategy that is
able to provide innovation in many
directions so that whenever this strategy will not
stop, it will be even wider with the number of
social entrepreneurs who come.
Kudus Regency does not have much
natural or tourism potential in it, but the
industry level in Kudus Regency is very high,
especially supported by the cigarette industry
whose center is in Kudus. The food, textile and
convection industries also dominate the
industrial level in Kudus Regency. Kajeksan
Village, which is in the Kota District, is one of
the most strategic villages.
Apart from its location which is very close
to the heart of the city, its existence is also in the
midst of tourism potential, namely the Kudus
Tower. On the other hand, Kajeksan Village is
located in the food, textile, convection and
embroidery industrial areas. Many businesses
exist around Kajeksan Village. The presence of
many businesses there should make Kajeksan
Village residents reduce their unemployment
and poverty levels.
The high unemployment rate for women is
due to low levels of education, on average junior
high school graduates who do not meet the
qualifications for job vacancies in the vicinity.
Job vacancies offered by UMKM around
Kajeksan Village still prioritize at least Junior
High School graduates or at least those who
already have certain skills. It is very rare for
MSMEs to accept job seekers who do not have
any skills. This is commonplace because the
owners do not want to spend extra time and
money on training them.
This concept of entrepreneurship should
be changed slightly because on average women
who do not work in Kajeksan Village are
individuals with low education and do not have
other skills that they can sell. In fact, the Kudus
Regency job training institute has often provided
skills training with various kinds of skills in
Kajeksan Village. But what is very unfortunate is
that not many quotas have been opened and the
majority who follow are the wives of sub-district
employees who in fact already have jobs or
additional skills.
There are three medium-sized businesses
that have applied 60% of the concept of social
entrepreneurship in Kajeksan Village, which up
to now has absorbed approximately 45% of
unemployment in Kajeksan Village, especially
women. The concept of entrepreneurship
that is carried out is still prioritizing profit
as the main goal, but on the other hand,
they do not provide any conditions for their
workers. Anyone can work with the ability
they have and the owner is happy to train
them as needed by the owner. In this way, they
hope to help their neighbors to work and earn
a decent little life even with a minimum wage.
918 Lola Kurnia Pitaloka et al., Social Entrepreneurship and Woman Empowerment…,
Another entrepreneurial model that
should be developed is to train the
entrepreneurial attitudes of the poor so that they
can not only work in an industry or MSMEs but
can also establish their own business and attract
other workforces to get jobs. But unfortunately,
the poor women in Kajeksan Village do not have
entrepreneurial potential in themselves. Based
on the results of the questionnaire obtained,
only 13.6% of women are willing and able to
develop their entrepreneurial attitude from the
way they lead and their personal character and
from their strong desire to change the life of
themselves and their families. The rest just want
to work to be able to increase family finances in
order to meet their basic needs.
According to (Perrini & Vurro, 2006), the
concept of social entrepreneurship that has a
link, will in fact further improve the economic
situation of a region. Because every year, the
workforce will increase, especially in countries
or regions that have a density of young people. If
social entrepreneurship only stops at 1 chain,
over time job vacancies will also narrow and
unemployment will get higher. But if the poor
are provided with provisions to become
entrepreneurs with the concept of social
entrepreneurship, then this can be used as
another link and increase job vacancies for other
workforces.
Empowerment of Women in Poverty
Alleviation
The test results above in table 6 show a
positive direction between women's
empowerment towards poverty alleviation with
a p value of 0.003 and a coefficient value of 0.218.
It can be interpreted that women's
empowerment has a significant and significant
effect on poverty alleviation. The relationship
with this positive direction means that when
there is success in empowering women, poverty
alleviation programs are also successful.
Research (Edralin et al., 2015)investigate
the role of women in the country's economy.
Women have an important share in the
country's economy because women are creatures
with stronger dimensions than men. Women's
multitasking way is stronger than men. Women
can have 2 roles at once, namely the domestic
role and the public role. Women who carry out 2
roles at once will have less time to rest because
in addition to doing free work, they still have the
responsibility to do their work at home,
especially women with additional duties as wives
or mothers.
In this sense, women can be stronger to
influence the economy than men. But
unfortunately, women are still the source of
objects, especially in domestic affairs. Women
are still overshadowed by their roles as wives
and mothers and the label "a good woman is a
woman who does not work and takes care of the
household in full". This case also occurred in
poor women in Kajeksan Village. Due to the
stigma surrounding women, many women in
Kajeksan Village do not have higher education.
Apart from insufficient costs, the oldfashioned
thinking of their parents made it
better for them to marry young and take
care of the household than to go to work. The
entire economic burden is passed on to men,
which sometimes makes women dependent and
not the least that causes domestic violence to
occur. Empowerment of women has an
awareness of themselves as complete human
beings and a position in their culture, while
empowerment through skills training tailored to
919EFFICIENT Indonesian Journal of Development Economics Vol 3 (3) (2020) : 908-921
local potential can increase and provide
motivation to form productive economic
enterprises. (Okoli & Igwegbe, 2015).
In empowerment, there is an element of
recognition from other individuals and
strengthening one's position through affirming
the rights and obligations that are owned in all
life structures. The empowerment process is
endeavored so that other people dare to voice
and fight for things that are considered
unbalanced. Empowerment prioritizes one's own
business and empowered people to achieve their
empowerment. So it can be connotated that
empowerment is very far from the meaning of
dependence.
One of the efforts to optimize women's
empowerment in Kajeksan Village can be taken
by assisting women to increase the potential of
previously existing women through developing
productive businesses or verifying local results
in groups. In this process, women are invited to
first identify what the real needs of women are,
both practical needs and strategic needs and
what is the problem. By knowing their own
needs, it is hoped that women can find solutions
to their problems.
The implementation of women's
empowerment for poor women is said to be
effective in alleviating poverty because they can
recognize themselves as complete human beings
and uphold human values so as to create
changes in the economic approach. The
economic approach that is expected is that
women can increase their income through
productive economic efforts to meet the needs
of a decent life (Khanna et al., 2015).
The potential that exists in women can be
developed again to get a job or to build a job.
Women who do not work, apart from
discriminatory acts from the surrounding
community, also because they do not know
about their potential. Guiding women to know
their competencies and abilities has proven
significant in reducing poverty in Cambodia
(Alese, 2013).
Women's empowerment is also present
because of the mutual support among other
women, including in Kajeksan Village. The
attitude of mutual support among other women
is very high by poor women in Kajeksan Village.
This mutual support is shown by how they
mutually work together if neighbors are having
difficulties and when there is an event, they
come together to help each other. This attitude
becomes the initial capital for further
empowering women.
The Kudus Regency Government initiated
the PKK (Program Kesejahteraan Keluarga)
program towards empowering and providing
advanced competency for women who
participate so that they have additional abilities
that they can get from the PKK program. The
Chairperson of the PKK Desa Kajeksan explained
that one of the PKK programs that had just been
initiated and required by the government was to
foster an entrepreneurial spirit for women,
especially housewives so that they could have
additional income and not depend on their
husbands.
This step is one of the steps in
long-term investment efforts for women in
addition to ensuring women's health and
education. If successful, the long-term
investment made by the Kudus Regency
government can reap a positive impact
and a bigger demographic bonus. On
the other hand, if women drop out of school,
get married under age, have many children,
work in the informal sector with low wages,
the regions will lose the demographic bonus.
920 Lola Kurnia Pitaloka et al., Social Entrepreneurship and Woman Empowerment…,
CONCLUSION
The conclusion of this study states that
social entrepreneurship and women's
empowerment have a significant effect on
poverty alleviation. Social entrepreneurship has
a strong significant influence, which means that
when there is a slight increase in the number of
social entrepreneurship, there is an increase in
poverty reduction.
Social entrepreneurship is being
intensified as a forum for increasing
employment because the goal is not only to gain
profits but also to have social benefits for those
around them. However, what is a drawback of
this research is that the entrepreneurial model
will actually be cut off in one chain because
there are no poor women who have
entrepreneurial potential in them so that it is
difficult for them to implement social
entrepreneurship from themselves for others.
Further research can formulate appropriate
concepts and models so that social
entrepreneurship can continue.
Empowerment of women is considered to
have high potential to alleviate poverty because
so far women have lost to men because there is
no specific support for women to become better
so that they can develop a minimum economy of
the family economy.
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