Women Entrepreneurship in India-Issues and Challenges

Abstract

Women are now more and more into dual or non-domestic work system. From just being confined to carrying loads they now carry heavy responsibilities and make decisions and strategies in the enterprises they work. From low-paid menial jobs to self-employment and small-scale industries, to unconventional fields and now own enterprises, the home-maker has had a breakthrough. Breaking centuries of tradition, the Indian woman today has not only embraced the complex life in the corporate world but has also begun to make her moves beyond a corporate career into and leadership. Now with more liberal attitudes and policies for women's education and work, more voice and choice, and more access to new avenues of livelihood and empowerment they have to behave as owners of their resources and work with confidence and perseverance rather than subservience. However, even now in India, about 98 per cent of women-owned enterprises are micro-enterprises. In India'stech capital, Bengaluru, only about 66 per cent start-ups are women-owned. Therefore, we need to study the natural, cultural and other barriers to women entrepreneurship in this time of demographic change, digital growth and rapid networking. In this paper, we try to examine the impact of change from ‘women in development ’to ‘women-led development ’on their socio-economic status, as well as the challenges they face. It also discusses alternative strategies for women in the wake of the National Skill Development Policy and National Skill Development Mission.