14-05-2014, 12:24 PM
Women Entrepreneurs: A Challenge in India
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ABSTRACT:
This paper focuses on women entrepreneurs. Women is the one who units individual into a family then society and eventually into a nation. Today’s women are no more playing the stereotype role in the society; they have taken up different roles such as entrepreneurs, employers, entertainers, leaders educators etc. Entrepreneurship is the state of mind which every woman has in her but has not been capitalized in India in way in which it should be. Due to change in environment, now people are more comfortable to accept leading role of women in our society, though there are some exceptions. The main objective of the paper is to highlight the challenges the women entrepreneurs have faced when the ventured out the carve their career in the competitive business environment. We will also suggest the way of eliminating and reducing hurdles of the women entrepreneurship development in Indian context.
INTRODUCTION:
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Entrepreneurship isn’t a walk in the park for anyone and it can be even more challenging if you are of the “female persuasion”. Entrepreneurs are an important actors in the economy: they are the creators of new wealth and new jobs, the inventors of new products and services, and the revolutionizes of society and the economy. Yet despite all this, a very little is known about entrepreneurs: what motivates them, how they emerge, why they succeed and most important what are the challenges that they face. Too often, we take for granted that entrepreneurs simply emerge, driven by some internal motivation or “little voice.” That assumption may be true to some extent but not completely. Women are one particularly understudied group of entrepreneurs. We have tried to know a very little about female entrepreneurs, and our ignorance of this important demographic is a serious blind spot in any effort to increase the total number of entrepreneurs participating in our economy. What little we do know suggests that women are not nearly as active in the entrepreneurial space as they could be.
1. Affluent Entrepreneurs:
Affluent women entrepreneurs are those women entrepreneurs who hails from rich business families. They are the daughters, daughter-in laws, sisters, sister-in-laws and wives of affluent people in the society. Many of them are engaged in beauty parlour, interior decoration, book publishing, film distribution and the like. The family supports the above type of entrepreneur in carrying out their responsibilities
2. Pull Factors:
Women in towns and cities take up entrepreneurship as a challenge to do something new and to be economically independent. These are coming under the category of pull factors. They belong to educated women who generally lake up small and medium industries where risk is low. Under this category, women usually start service centres schools, food catering centres, restaurants, grocery shops etc.
3. Push Factors:
There are some women entrepreneurs who accepts entrepreneurial activities to overcome financial difficulties. The family situation forces them either to develop the existing family business or to start new ventures to improve the economic conditions of the family. Such categories of entrepreneurs are termed as push factors.
4. Self-employed Entrepreneur:
Poor and very poor women in villages and town rely heavily on their own efforts for sustenance. They start tiny and Small enterprises like brooms making, wax candle making, providing tea and coffee to offices, ironing of clothes knitting work, tailoring firm etc. Such women are called self-employed entrepreneurs.
5. Rural Entrepreneurs:
Women in rural areas/villages start enterprises which needs least organising skill and less risk. Dairy products, pickles, fruit juices, pappads and jagger making are coming under this category of Rural entrepreneur.
OBSTACLES FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP:
Absence of Definite Agenda of Life, Absence of Balance between Family and Career Obligations of women, Poor Degree of Financial Freedom for women, Absence Direct Ownership of the Property to women, Paradox of Entrepreneurial Skill & Finance in economically rich and poor women, No Awareness about Capacities, Low Ability to Bear Risk, Problems of Work with Male Workers , Negligence of Financial Institutions, Lack of Self-Confidence, Lack of Professional Education, Mobility Constraints and Lack of Interaction with Successful Entrepreneurs are major problems of women entrepreneurship development in India.
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN INDIA:
The educated women do not want to limit their lives in the four walls of the house. They demand equal respect from their partners. However, Indian women have to go a long way to achieve equal rights and position because traditions are deep rooted in Indian society.
Despite all the social hurdles, many women have become successful in their works. These successful women have made name & wealth for themselves with their hard work, diligence, competence and will power.
CONCLSION:
The elimination of obstacles for women entrepreneurship firstly requires a major change in traditional attitudes and mindsets of people in society rather than being limited to only creation of opportunities for women. Hence, it is imperative to design programmes that will address to attitudinal changes, training, supportive services. Secondly the basic requirement in development of women entrepreneurship is to make aware the women regarding her existence, her unique identity and her contribution towards the economic growth and development of country.
Therefore, there is need of continuous attempt to inspire, encourage, motivate and co-operate women entrepreneurs, awareness programme should be conducted on a mass scale with the intention of creating awareness among women about the various areas to conduct business.
A Women Entrepreneur's Guidance Cell set up to handle the various problems of women entrepreneurs.