Women entrepreneurs have become an integral part of today’s corporate world. Today, more women are breaking free from the traditional, gender-specific roles and venturing into the business world. Statistics prove that women have come a long way in the field of entrepreneurship from being a minority in the entrepreneurial ecosystem ten years ago ,they today comprise of 37% of the world’s total entrepreneurs. The recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) found 126 million women starting or running businesses, and 98 million operating established (over three and a half years) businesses. That’s 224 million women impacting the global economy — and this survey counts only 67 of the 188 countries recognized by the World Bank.
The major hurdle in a woman becoming an entrepreneur is her ever-increasing responsibility first as a daughter,then as a wife and finally as a mother. While they also have to monitor the house-hold chores women have now started initiating small business ventures which are based on the skills they have acquired as a house-wife through her life(eg.sale of home-made food products and other such things).
Just like any other field,women have anchored their position in the previously male dominant field of entrepreneurship.Unlike men,usually the motive for a woman being an entrepreneur is not monetary reward but rather personal satisfaction and community involvement,as women usually don't share the burden for providing the bread for the family.
There are some very dashing live examples of successful female entrepreneurs just proving the point that women are equally(or in some cases even more!) capable than men at managing business empires. Indra Nooyi (CFO, Pepsico), Naina Lal Kidwai (Group General Manager & Country Head – HSBC,India), Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (CMD, Biocon), Chanda Kochar (MD & CEO – ICICI Bank) etc are definitely believed to be in the most successful entrepreneurs in India. Cher Wang (Cofounder HTC), Lisa Stone (Co-Founder and CEO, BlogHer) ,Miranda Bouldin (Logicore) etc are some non-Indian additions to the list.
Problems faced by budding women entrepreneurs:
1.Ideas and lack of information- Well ideas can just flash before anyone literally but it is really very important to refine such an idea in order to transform it into a successful business venture.For well educated women having a healthy technical background,it is not as a herculean a task to land up on a successful entrepreneurship idea as it is for those with little or no prior knowledge of on-goins in the world.For such women the first task is to equip themselves with enough information preparing themselves to sustain the hardships they can face during their brain-storming experience.
2.Inadequate Financial skills- Though a very small fraction of women have the proper finance related knowledge,it has been observed that managing the household budget moulds a women's financial skills in a very positive way.Women usually face problems regarding the initial investment needed in a business venture but it has often found been found that women have self-financed their business through a planned and well executed domestic micro-finance policy.
3.Management- Very rarely do we find women having practical hands-on experience with management at moderate or large scale projects.On a positive note,the trend is very rapidly changing and now-a-days we can find many women attending B-schools and pursuing courses in management.
A major reason for growth in the number of women entrepreneurs has been the government policy and the incentives provided for the same. Also many large-scale organisations like 'Federation of Indian Women Entrepreneurs' work tirelessly in the same cause.A trend has been observed that suggests that women will play a very vital role in re-moulding the world of entrepreneurs in a completely new dimension,in the times to come.
Gaurav Karmarkar
Great info.. Thanks for sharing.
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