Women entrepreneurship in India: a review of barriers and motivational factors

Abstract

As the traditional definition of entrepreneurship had never focused on the gender of entrepreneurs, it could very well be used to define women entrepreneur without constraints. Entrepreneurship by women can be understood as the practice wherever females systematise various elements of production, willing to take risks and be responsible for employing other people. Focusing on the structural reforms in the Indian economy, the well-known 'liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation' policies in the early 1990s, completely changed the Indian outlook. It had spurred the start-up phenomenon in the country and emphasis on women entrepreneurship had gained significantly ever since. There are many prosperous women entrepreneurs who have outplayed their male counterparts in many aspects. Nevertheless, women as entrepreneurs are less than one third of the total gamut of entrepreneurs in the country. The main objective of this study is to identify barriers that hinder women's progress as entrepreneurs and examines the factors that motivate them to take up entrepreneurship. On the basis of review, this conceptual study has suggested few propositions that could be further empirically tested.