Women Entrepreneurship

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

Context:

The story of Falguni Nayar’s Nykaa can inspire much more women to become job creators. India needs much more entrepreneurs especially for small towns and hinterlands to dismantle patriarchy.

DATA/REPORTS

• The United Nations development programme in its report on Gender Inequality observed that women spend 2.4 more hours per day on average than men on unpaid and domestic work.
• Effect of pandemic- women are more likely to live in extreme poverty than men by 25%
• According to estimates by International Labour Organisation, global female employment is at 19% more risk than males.
• According to World economic forum’s Gender Gap Report, 2021, the gender gap widened in India by 3%
• Also, the share of women declined to 29.2 per cent in professional and technical roles
• Women at top positions -Only 8.9 % of organisations have top female managers and nearly 14.6 % of women occupy senior and managerial positions
• Index of women entrepreneurs- India is ranked at 52nd position out of 57 surveyed countries
• Innovation, economic growth and job creation
• According to a study, measures to close the gender gap in India would lead to a 6.8 % gain in GDP
• According to estimations by advancing women’s equality India could boost its GDP by 16% in 2025
• More entrepreneurship would  help in building the economic potential of women and does the achievement of sustainable development goals by 2030

CAUSES OF LESS NUMBER OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Lack of education

• The states with relatively higher literacy rates also have more women entrepreneurs
•  The top 5 states with the highest percentage of women entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh,West Bengal and Maharashtra 

Unconscious gender bias

• The intentional and automatic mental associations based on gender due to traditions, norms & values, culture and experience have a major role in impeding the progress of women entrepreneurs
• The automatic association enables quick assessment and often leads to decision making unfavourable towards women

Business is not women’s world

• The stereotype of lack of confidence in business skills of women and a belief in the society that men are more competent in financial matters are also some of the major roadblocks for women entrepreneurs
• Women are often treated with less respect and such attitudes are also reflected in the communications

Self-doubt among women

• Because of the society and the environment in which women work, it is natural for them to have a feeling of low confidence in their own business skills
• It is common to see even highly successful women struggling with self-doubt and underestimating their abilities while the opposite is true for men

Financial hurdles

• Entrepreneurship involves risk-taking and women are often assumed to be less willing to take risks than men 
• Due to stereotypes, fewer women actively approach investors and are reluctant to divest stakes.
• Women are differently perceived than men even when they approach investors and also investors prefer pitches presented by men as compared to women in spite of having similar content
• Indian women rarely own property to be used as collateral for loans. 
• About 79% of women-owned ventures are self-financed families are often hesitant to provide financial support to their daughters’ entrepreneur ventures

Alienation of women in corporate culture

• Masculine corporate cultures, an ecosystem of startups being characterized by ‘ bro culture’ of ‘alpha males’ lacks empathy and talking about emotional challenges is perceived as a weakness
• Women do not feel comfortable in the prominent industry networks and they’re not being part of such networks cost them important opportunities to mingle and connect with people in the market
• Thus, women entrepreneurs have to struggle much more than their male counterparts to get access to the market

Business is a man’s domain 

• The predominant social norms expect women to give utmost priority to their home and not a career 
• On average women spend five times as much time as men on household work, care and other unpaid activities
• As it is said the most important career choice that women make is who they choose to marry because family support is considered a core success factor for Indian female entrepreneurs

Child care

• When women entrepreneurs become mothers, they have to face another set of challenges. There are various negative perceptions in the society labelling mothers working leaving their children at home as selfish and are made to feel guilty
• Allowing women to work with more flexible hours and space would be a good opportunity and will enable them to perceive entrepreneurial careers while reconciling with duties at home

Safety at workplaces

• Women safety at workplaces and also at public places like while travelling are also challenges that hold back women
• The perception of danger reinforces social norms that restrict women’s mobility and thereby economic participation and freedom

NITI AAYOG’S WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP PLATFORM (WEP)

NITI Aayog in partnership with SIDBI has launched this platform to provide an ecosystem for budding and existing women entrepreneurs across the country

It is based on three pillars

• Iccha Shakti – motivating aspiring entrepreneurs to start their business
• Gyaan Shakti -providing knowledge and ecosystem support to women entrepreneurs to help them foster entrepreneurship
• Karma Shakti – providing hands-on support to entrepreneurs in setting up and scaling up businesses

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

Access to education

• The broad gender gap in economic participation and opportunity is also due to low women entrepreneurship
• Equal access to education and encouragement to women to use their required skills, policies aiming at more women in senior and leadership roles will enable women to start their own businesses

Awareness of unconscious bias and disadvantage to women

• Women need to deal with negative attitudes since changes in mindsets take time it cannot happen overnight

Sharing success stories

• Sharing the stories on various social and traditional media can provide inspiration and proof that business can be a women’s world and strengthen the confidence of young female entrepreneurs

Safe work environment

• A more inclusive, non-discriminatory and safe work environment will help in the retention of qualified women. 
• The measures must ensure that women can commute between their offices and homes without any mental load of worrying about their security

Support from family and social circles

• Household and care duty should not be considered as women’s sole responsibility
• Granting maternity benefits to women entrepreneurs, improving childcare and cultivating social acceptance will help women in combining their entrepreneurial pursuits and family responsibilities

The Indian Express Link:

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/nykaa-falguni-nayar-entrepreneurship-7624626/

Question: Critically evaluate the status, challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs in India.