Gender Disparities and Social Responsibilities as a Barrier to the Adoption of E-Commerce for Women Entrepreneurs of India in the MSME Sector

Abstract

Gender-based obstacles that prevent women from beginning and expanding their enterprises include unequal distribution of family and domestic duties, restricted mobility, discriminatory property, marriage, and inheritance laws and/or cultural traditions. When it comes to accessing resources such as commercial credit from formal financial service providers, more lucrative markets rather than traditional local markets, technology and information to launch and expand their businesses, national incentives in small enterprise development through gender-blind private sector development, fiscal policies and legislation, and training and education for small enterprise development, women entrepreneurs are less privileged than men due to these factors combined with social exclusion based on gender. In the informal sector, women entrepreneurs running micro and small companies significantly improve the financial security of their families and communities. They have little chance of creating successful firms as long as they are not covered by SME development laws and initiatives. In order to address these issues, this research paper takes a development and rights-based strategy that strives to meet the real-world needs of female entrepreneurs, eliminate the political, legal, and sociocultural obstacles to their success, and promote an atmosphere that is supportive of both gender equality and business growth.