Opportunities and Challenges for Indian Women Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Traditionally, entrepreneurship has been a male-dominated chase and women were confined to the four walls of houses performing household activities. Women are generally perceived as home makers with little to do with economy or commerce. One of the major challenges faced by women entrepreneurs is the cultural norm of "purdah” which places severe restrictions on their mobility and prevents them from being able to take part in normal economic activities freely. They also have had to, at times; restrict the nature of their businesses to sectors traditionally associated with women ” such as education, beauty or health. However, this practice is changing in today's global world; women are moving forward and working in a space long dominated by men.

In Modern India, Women have broken down the glass ceiling of the traditional thought long prevailing in world and have emerged as successful entrepreneurs. These days India has been the depiction of women in the top echelons of banking and financial services and many more sectors and even has emerged as powerful entrepreneurs. The entry of women into business is a recent development in the orthodox, traditional socio cultural environment of Indian society. The hidden entrepreneurial potential of women has gradually been changing with the growing sensitivity to the role and economic status in the society. Women have become aware of their existence, their rights and their work situation.  Gone are the days when women, even when accepted in the world of commerce, would be stereotyped into a few professions.

Women have been successful in the entertainment and fashion industries for a long time. But today, the likes of Kiran Majumdar Shaw (CMD of Biocon, India), Niana Lal Kidwai (head of HSBC, India), Neelam Dhawan (MD of HP, India) and others of their like rub shoulders with men in board rooms and are continuously proving that  women are and can be as successful as men. The robust Indian economy is a big boon, but more focus needs to be placed on creating stronger foundations for the financial, societal, logistics and technology pillars to fully leverage the capabilities of the Indian Woman Entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurial activity creates growth and prosperity ” and solutions for social problems. And today's trends show that women will be a driving force of entrepreneurial growth in the future. However, being a woman entrepreneur has its own set of challenges. This paper focuses on the challenges faced by Indian women entrepreneurs and various opportunities available to them and measures taken by government to encourage women entrepreneurship in India.