Women Entrepreneurs in India – Importance

In modern days, women entrepreneurs are playing a very important role in business, trade or industry. Their entry into business is of recent origin. Women have already shown their vital role in other spheres like politics, administration, medical and engineering, technical and technological, social and educational services. This is true in advanced countries and now in recent years, they have been entering into these fields in our country. Their entry into business is a recent phenomenon in India.

It is an extension of kitchen activities. In certain businesses, women entrepreneurs are doing exceedingly well and even they have exceeded their male counterparts. Women are successful not only in law, science, medical, aeronautics and space exploration and even in police and military services, but now they are showing their might even in business and industry. They have proved that they are no less them men in the efficiency, hardwork, or intelligence, provided they are given proper scope.

The role or importance of women entrepreneurs may be ascertained from the study of the functions they perform.

These functions are as under:

a) Exploring the prospects of starting new enterprises.

b) Undertaking risks and handling economic uncertainties.

c) Introducing innovations.

d) Co-ordinating administration and control.

e) Routine supervision.

It may be observed that these functions are not always of equal importance. For example, risk-taking and innovation functions are of utmost importance for establishing, diversifying and running the business successfully co-ordination and supervision functions become important in improving the efficiency and attaining the goodwill for the business as well as in assuring the smooth balanced operation of the enterprise.

In the case of women enterprises, usually the same lady performs all these functions and some times, she may also take the assistance of other female staff members. In most of the cases, a woman is the owner of the business enterprise.

Generally, the following three types of business are suitable to the women entrepreneurs:

a) Manufacturing a product for direct sale in the market.

b) Manufacturing a product or a part of the product to meet the short term or long-term order of a large industrial company, and

c) Operating purely as a sub-contractor of raw materials supplied by the customers.

Generally, the last two types industry or business are known as ancillaries. The women entrepreneurs prefer to deal in consumer goods which have always a demand in the market. They prefer to deal in intermediate goods which are used in the production of other products and mostly they are manufactured to the orders of large companies.

Why Women Entrepreneurs

More and better access to finance/credit is mentioned very frequently. Give a woman 1000 rupees and she can start a business. Give her another 1000 rupees and she will be able to feed not only for her family, but for her employees as well.

From the Center for International Enterprise to the Harvard Business Review, business experts have agreed for several years that the world needs to support the development of women entrepreneurs. Studies are showing that when women gain access to their own financial freedom, they are lifted out of poverty, children begin to become healthier, and the overall economic status of a country improves.

Why is it that women are uniquely positioned to improve the condition of a country's economy? Is it something about women's inherent social abilities, their position in society, or something more obvious?

Let's take a look at many of the co-occurring factors that create an increasing need for more women entrepreneurs in the global marketplace.

Economic Growth

There are only seven countries in the world where men and women own businesses at an equal rate. In most countries, women own significantly fewer businesses than men. Even in countries where women own a substantial portion of firms, they tend to perform at a lower level than businesses owned by men. In the United States, for example, women own about 30 percent of the businesses currently operating, but only employ around 6 percent of the workforce.

Bringing more women entrepreneurs into the marketplace, therefore, simply offers a chance for more successful businesses. In general, business ownership is not a zero-sum game; one company being successful does not inherently drive another out of business.

Women may be able to open businesses that cater to a different clientele or niche than their male counterparts. Overall, this accounts for improved economic growth and stability within a country.

Dramatic Target for Poverty Reduction

Organizations like the Brookings Institute have pointed out that entrepreneurship may be a way to support women who live in extreme poverty around the world. By removing barriers to entrepreneurship (credit, training, legal restrictions on property), women are able to gain incomes, advocate for their own independence, and take on a more full societal role in their culture.

Because many women are also parents, breaking the hold of poverty on the lives of women also helps to support children in nations that struggle with youth poverty.

Since removing the barriers to entrepreneurship are often easier than targeting entrenched cultural barriers that are based on religion, supporting the economic growth of women entrepreneurs is often a more advocacy-friendly goal.

Improved Innovation

Businesses owned by women are often subjected to a particularly interesting double standard.  It is important to note that no studies have found that women-owned businesses are more likely to fail than businesses owned by men.

Why are women more innovative than their male counterparts? There are many different theories put forth, from women having access to different niches than men, to having a different societal role and therefore different needs than men, to simply having a different understanding of usefulness.

Whatever the ultimate reason, it is clear that women entrepreneurs have a valuable and diverse perspective that will support the overall development of a robust global economy as we proceed farther into the 21st century.