Study on Women Entrepreneurs' Rise in the Corporate Sector

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UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI
PROJECT REPORT ON
“STUDY ON WOMEN ENTERPRENEUR’S IN CORPORATE SECOTR”
SUBMITTED BY
MANCHALA SOUMYA SHANKAR
THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF
BACHELOR OF BANKING AND INSURANCE (B & I) SEM-VI
EXAMINATION NO:-
ACADEMIC YEAR 2021-2022
GUIDED BY
PROF. CHARMI GONDALIYA
PADMASHRI ANNASAHEB JADHAV BHARATHIYA SAMAJ UNNATHI MANDAL’S
B.N.N. COLLEGE BHIWANDI
DIST.THANE-421302

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DECLARATION
I, Miss. MANCHALA SOUMYA SHANKAR, Exam No: __________ Student of
B.N.N College, Bhiwandi of T.Y.B.Com (BACHELOR OF BANKING &
INSURANCE), SemesterVI, hereby declare that I have completed project on “STUDY
ON WOMEN ENTERPRENEUR’S IN CORPORATE SECOTR” is a record of
independent research work carried byme during the academic year 2021-2022 under the
guidance of PROF.CHARMI GONDALIYA The information submitted is true and
original to the best of my knowledge.

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SELF-FUNDED COURSES
“A” NAAC Accredited
“BEST COLLEGE AWARD 2021-2022”
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify That MANCHALA SOUMYA SHANKAR, Seat No.:______ of
T.Y.B.Com (BACHELOR OF BANKING & INSURANCE), B.N.N College,
Semester VI (Academic Year 2021-2022) has successfully completed the project
entitled “STUDY ON WOMEN ENTERPRENEUR’S IN CORPORATE
SECOTR” and submitted the project report in partial fulfillment of the requirement
for the award of the Degree of T.Y.B.com (Banking and Insurance) of University of
Mumbai.
Prof.Charmi Gondaliya Dr. Kalpana Patankar Jain/ Dr. Ashok. D. Wagh
Dr. Vikas Ubale
(Project Guide) (Co-ordinator) (Principal)
Examiner: - ____________
Date: - ______________
College Seal

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ACKNOWLEGMENT
To list who all have helped me is difficult because they are so numerous, and the depth is so enormous.
I would like to acknowledge the following as being idealistic channels and fresh dimensions in the
completion of this project.
I take this opportunity to thank the University of Mumbai for giving me chance to do this project. I
would like to thank my Principal, Dr. Ashok D. Wagh for providing the necessary facilities required
for completion of this project. I take this opportunity to thank our Co-ordinators, Dr. Kalpana
Patankar and Dr. Vikas Ubale for their moral support and guidance. I would also like to express my
sincere gratitude towards my project guide Prof.Charmi Gondaliya whose guidance and care made
the project successful.
I would like to thank my College Nirlon Library, for having provided various reference books and
magazines related to my project.
Lastly, I would like to thank each person who directly or indirectly helped me in the completion of the
project especially my parents and peers who supported me throughout my project.

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CHAPTERS NAME OF THE TOPIC PAGE NO
1 INTRODUCTION
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4 DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION & PRESENTATION
5 CONCLUSION
 BIBLOGRAPHY
 ANNEXURE

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CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION
The opening up of Indian economy, the increased role of the private sector And the increase in the
number of the multinationals springing up has facilitated a slow but definite rise in the number of
woman managers and entrepreneurs in the cooperate sector. Kiran mazumder shows bicon a biotech
firm’s worth over 1.1 billion with her stake at 449 million. Vidya Mohan Chhabria chairperson of the
2 billon Jumbo group, and Naina lal kidwai vice chairperson and managing director of HSBC securities
and capital markets are the two Indian women to feature on the list of the 50 most powerful women in
International Business by Fortune magazine.
So, we can see how quickly the carrier of woman’s are growing in the corporate world Gone are the
days when we hardly could see any woman in the core management of the organization. Woman are
increasingly taking up superior position in the cooperate world. Woman has been forming a
considerable part of the US workforce for decades now. Efficiency of woman to succeed professionally
has been acknowledged all over the world. Nevertheless gender discrimination in the work place did
exist and still continues in one form to another. With better education opportunities more and more
woman are opting for financial independence by working towards a stable carrier. Today almost every
field was earlier touted as being man only has been pervaded by woman. If a woman qualifies on the
basis of all the requirements of a profession than there is no reason why there should be gender
discrimination in the workplace. Although laws have been passed in most of the countries to provide
equal opportunities at the workplace for both man and woman the fact that woman and the glass ceiling
still exist.
India has more than one billion population with almost 500 million women. One of the important
factors for India’s stupendous growth has been its young and educated population. Economic predictors
believe that the phenomenal growth rate of Indian economy will be fuelled by the young work ready
people in the coming years. Despite the fact that India has almost 250 million women in the working
age group very few reach the top in Indian organizations. Huge numbers of females now work in the
organized sector, but they remain at the lower or middle levels in the organizations. Women today
comprise only 2 per cent of the total managerial strength in the Indian corporate sector. The fact is that
there are so many cases which demonstrates how woman are undermined in the Cooperates and the
other forms of Institution. Many woman struggles finding better ways to balance work and life and
often this guilt comes from outside sources like pressure from Husbands, family and friends. Some

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woman opt. to travel less to have more time for their family and friends. Gender lines are drawn early
and exclusions for woman continue throughout adulthood .Not only woman discrimination against
private business but also by the federal Government. Gender basis began elementary school continuing
into collage.
Women hold a key position in the shaping of the next generation, and in the life of their husband. Just
as men have disappeared from the landscape of the home, women have disappeared as well. While the
Industrial revolution, and other factors, contributed to the man becoming uninvolved in the family,
there are factors that have contributed to the woman becoming second rate in the family.
The high cost of living in modern society has put the family in the position where both adults must
work full time jobs to survive. While many people do this purely to obtain a lot of possessions, many
do so out of necessity. There is absolutely nothing wrong with women working a job outside of the
home. In the Bible, the book of Proverbs mentions the woman of virtue working outside of her home.
In the last chapter of Proverbs, she is pictured as working long hours to help her family with making
money. The problem occurs when, after coming home from work, both parents do not put in an equal
amount of energy into the home. Often, the woman is left with all the responsibilities with the children
and household chores .This shows how hard working the woman is and what is its position in the
society in current time.
As the growth of the woman’s in the cooperate sector started the tremendous revolution came in the
society.
Women anticipated being valued for their brain power, assuming it would serve to create equanimity
in the workplace. Women were donning suits, albeit skirted, and sometimes bow-ties, to compete with
their male counterparts for management positions.
In their attempt to climb the corporate ladder they face many difficulties but they got success.
The Males also accepted the fact that woman can take every challenge and maintain their
Work life balance with the Cooperates. For sure, the “mommy track” meant incredible creativity.
There are many successful stories of women who didn’t give up their jobs – or their careers – and
learned to successfully manage motherhood and a career. These women pioneered
compartmentalization. Unlike their male counterparts, who became parents and continued to work,
women didn’t have to benefit of the attentend co parent at home Instead, they crafted shared childcare
arrangements with other working mothers, live-in nannies (giving rise to an entire industry heretofore

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virtually non-existent in the United States) and sometimes relied on their own mothers to help with
childcare.
The rising demand for childcare also created rising childcare costs, prompting some women to choose
between a career and motherhood. Rather than lose their investment in those women, some
organizations created on-site childcare facilities to combat the trend of women choosing to stay home
after maternity leave. Some women, the alternative to leaving their careers was to start their own
businesses. They left their organizations with accumulated management skills and a database of
customers, armed as competition to those very organizations which trained them. Women were
motivated solely by their anger at a dysfunctional system and resistant stakeholders, which
compromised their success by seeing the world through a linear lens rather than as a dynamics reality.
Service Sector in India today accounts for more than half of India's GDP. According to data for the
financial year 2006-2007, the share of services, industry, and agriculture in India's GDP is 55.1 per
cent, 26.4 per cent, and 18.5 per cent respectively. The fact that the service sector now accounts for
more than half the GDP marks a watershed in the evolution of the Indian economy and takes it closer
to the fundamentals of a developed economy. Hence the importance of service sector cannot be over
emphasized and any negative indicators in this sector can hamper the economic growth.
Despite the narrowing of the gender gap in business education, there is a growing sense that women
are not getting ahead fast enough in the corporate and financial world. Bertrand and Kevin F. Hallock
(2001) document the under-representation of women among the five highest-paid executives in
Execucomp’s (S&P 1500) firms from 1992 to 1997. Only about 2.5 percent of the executives in their
sample are women, and the under-representation is especially severe at the highest levels of the
corporate ladder. The number of female CEOs among Execucomp firms increased from just 4 in 1992
to 34 in 2004, according to Justin Wolfers (2006), but women still represents only 1.3 percent of the
CEO-year observations in his sample.
Various explanations have been proposed for women’s underperformance in the corporate and financial
sectors. Experimental evidence suggests that women have less taste for the highly-competitive
environments in top finance and corporate jobs (Muriel Niederle and Lise Vesterlund 2007), and female
MBAs may be less willing to aggressively negotiate for pay and promotion (Linda Babcock and Sara
Laschever 2003). MBA women may be subject to implicit or explicit gender discrimination (Bertrand,
Dolly Chugh, and Sendhil Mullainathan 2005), and even talented female MBAs may encounter
difficulty getting recognized in male-dominated workplaces.

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Women may also fall behind because of the career/family conflicts arising from the purportedly long
hours, heavy travel commitments, and inflexible schedules of most high-powered finance and corporate
jobs.
This paper speaks to the relative importance of these alternative explanations of the gender gap in
career outcomes for highly-educated personnel in the US corporate and financial sectors. We study the
careers of MBAs who graduated between 1990 and 2006 from a top US business school—the Booth
School of Business of the University of Chicago—and how career dynamics differ by gender. We
explore the evolution of the gender gap in earnings and labor supply for young professionals employed
primarily in corporate, consulting, and financial services jobs.
GENDER PERSPECTIVES ON HEALTH AND SICK-LEAVE
Gender differences in health are explained from at least two perspectives, the biological and the socio ‐
cultural. The biological perspective stresses genetics, physiological and anatomical features as
explanatory factors while the socio‐cultural perspective accentuates women’s and men’s diverse
circumstances in social, working and family life. The biological perspective is often viewed as
uncomplicated. Women and men are seen as separated and unchangeable units, universally applied.
The socio‐cultural perspective is more complex and has to consider the individual in a context
influenced by family, work and society. This perspective has to understand the construction of
femininity and masculinity and how these are influenced by society and culture. As opposed to the
biological perspective the socio‐cultural also has to recognize the constructions’ changeability.
However, it is essential to integrate these two perspectives, since neither can be sufficient on its own.
The construction of gender is influenced by biology and the biological and physical features of the
sexes are not static, but are influenced by environment.
Consequently, the negative development of health among women requires reflection from a variety of
angles. Although women live longer than men, it can be seen as a paradox that they report lower
perceived health, consume more health care and are more often on sick‐leave than men. Surveys have,
however, pointed out a more complex picture where gender differences depend on many different
factors. Of these, it is important to consider diagnosis and age. Macintyre et al. found gender differences
in reporting symptoms and conditions, where women showed more psychological distress than men.
However, no gender differences were found in reporting physical symptoms and conditions. In a study
of self‐reported headache and musculoskeletal pain, women reported a greater number of, and more
severe 12 symptoms than men. However, the differences were reversed when it came to the physical

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dimensions of health‐related quality of life. In these men were more affected by headache than women.
A large diversity was also found in the different age groups with gender differences in the younger
groups and no differences in the middle‐aged ones. Correspondingly, Macintyre et al. found it valuable
to take age in to account when analyzing gender health differences. As previously mentioned women
are more sick‐listed than men. Hen sing et al., however found in a study concerning sick‐leave owing
to psychiatric disorders that men turned out to have longer periods of sickness absence while women
had a higher incidence of sick‐leave. Conclusively, this complexity of gender, health and sick‐leave
requires further research that will shed light upon the issue from a variety of perspectives.
An aspect when considering women’s health and sick‐leave is that in Sweden women are
proportionately part of the paid work force approximately to the same extent as men; women’s
participation rate is 80 % compared to men’s 86 % . At the same time, unpaid work, such as household
work and domestic childcare, has not diminished and women contribute more to these chores than men.
In a study of employed Swedish women, high domestic strain was associated with low self‐rated health.
Women in white‐collar professions report a higher total workload, including paid and unpaid work,
more stress and higher severity of symptoms than men. A high total workload was associated with sick‐
leave among women in a study based on employees of the Swedish Mail. The work‐family conflict has
been found to constitute a risk for sickness absence in both women and men, most pronounced in
women however, and with poorer health outcome among women. Even though this thesis is focusing
on work‐related stress in women it is vital to keep in mind the influences of stress from other domains
of life.
CONSEQUENCES OF SICKNESS ABSENCE
In Sweden, during the nineteen‐nineties the rate of sick‐leave increased dramatically, but has somewhat
declined in the last few years. Still, the costs in terms of early retirement pensions have increased, and
over a half of million people are living on disability pensions. In just a few years, psychiatric diagnoses
have raised from 18 % to over 30 % of the sickness certifications. Within the psychiatric diagnoses
depression, stress reactions and angst syndrome have increased the most. Long‐term sickness absence
is a strong predictor for mortality and low self‐rated health in both women and 13men. The odds for
overall mortality were at least more than three times higher for sick‐listed persons. Sick‐leave is also a
predictor for future disability pension. The consequences of sickness absence also affect several other
domains of life. People who have been on sick‐leave for a long period perceive a reduced satisfaction
in leisure activities, financial situation and life as a whole. Initially women on long‐term sick‐leave

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described, in a qualitative study, a relief in being on sick‐leave but eventually found themselves isolated
and inactive. In a study of middle‐aged women, those who were sick‐listed perceived lower well‐being
than the working women. In a Swedish survey, women’s wages, as opposed to men’s, were
significantly reduced owing to work absence because of their own sickness. Self‐efficacy has been
found to be lower in the group of sick‐listed people compared to the general working population.
However, low self‐efficacy was not associated with future sick‐leave. This may indicate that low self‐
efficacy is a result of the sickness absence itself rather than a reason for it. The societal and individual
costs and consequences of sickness absence are high, thus more research enlightening different aspects
of this matter is required. As women are most affected it is essential to obtain the sick‐listed women’s
perspective of sickness absence and return to work possibilities.
OCCUPATIONAL GENDER SEGREGATION
The fact that the labor market is gender segregated both horizontally and vertically can also have an
impact on health development and sickness absence in women. The horizontal segregation concentrates
women and men in separate occupations; women are mainly in public employment, providing
education, social service, health and child‐care, while men work mostly in the private sector. The
vertical gender segregation refers to women not being in higher positions, either in female or in male
dominated occupations, and to the possibility for women to achieve career or wage improvement as
being low. For example, in Sweden, three out of four managers are men. In the private sector, four
managers out of five are men. Although, it is true that women in general run a higher risk for sickness
absence the issue is more multifaceted. It has been shown that men working in female‐dominated
occupations run an increased risk for sick‐leave, as are women working in male‐dominated
occupations. In the nineteen‐nineties there were large reductions in public services resulting in an
increasing workload for the remaining workforce. In the same period the psychosocial work
environment deteriorated, i.e. stressful work, work demands and work pace have increased, and this is
especially pronounced for women. The occupational gender 14 segregation may have an impact on
health development, sick‐leave and return to work possibilities in women.
WORK CHARACTERISTICS AND WORK-RELATED STRESS
Work‐related characteristics, such as injustice at work, i.e. low ability to influence the decision‐making
procedures and not being listened to, has been connected to low health perceptions as well as to sick‐
leave. Poor organizational climate, including low role‐clarity, bad social relations at work and

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insufficient management, have also been related to ill‐health, sickness absence and disability pension
claims. Furthermore, organizational factors such as re‐organizations, expansions and downsizings have
also been tidied and proven to cause adverse health outcomes and to raise the rate of sickness absence.
A larger proportion of women report more physically demanding and stressful work, a higher workload
and more sleeping difficulties owing to work than men.
High workload, with both perceived high psychological and physical demands has also been connected
to symptoms of illness, as well as to sick‐leave, predominantly among women. Physical and mental
demands exceeding the individual’s own capacity has constituted a risk for long‐term sick‐leave among
women and not having control over working time has been related to a higher level of self‐ reported
stress and to a high risk for sick‐leave, particularly for women. Person‐related characteristics, such as
over‐
commitment, high effort at
self‐efficacy,
work and low
have been associated
with low health
perception as well as with
sick‐leave. Work‐
related stress caused by
poor work
characteristics can be seen
as an imbalance between on the one hand physical and psychological work demands, and on the other
hand personal resources such as knowledge, skills or abilities. If both work and person‐related

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characteristics are taken into consideration, valuable new knowledge could be added and be useful in
future research assessing work‐related stress in women.
Two different theoretical models, the Demand Control Model and the Effort‐Reward Imbalance Model
assessing stressful work‐related characteristics have been frequently used in studies aiming to predict
risk for illness and sickness absence among workers. The model of demand‐control, developed by
Karasek and Theorell, gests that the combination of high psychological demands and low decision
latitude render high strain jobs with symptoms of illness as a result. Studies have also found that high
demand and low control at work increase the risk of being sick‐listed.
Women seem to report higher demand and lower control than men. Also, the combination of high
demand and high control – characteristics for so‐called active jobs – seems to constitute a risk for sick‐
leave in women, as opposed to in men. The social support from supervisors and co‐workers dimension
has been added to the demand‐control model, and low social support from supervisors and co‐workers
has been found to be connected with a higher risk for sickness absence as well. The Effort‐Reward
Imbalance Model developed by Siegrist suggests that an imbalance between high effort spent and low
reward in terms of money, esteem and career causes work‐related stress. The effort‐reward imbalance
and over‐commitment have been found to constitute a risk for adverse health outcomes and sickness
absence. The job demand‐control model was developed during the 1970s among industrial workers and
the Effort‐Reward Imbalance Model has its origin in explaining the relationship between work stress
and cardiovascular‐related outcomes. Although the models have been successfully used in many
different sectors and diagnoses, they have not been developed with a gender perspective, but mainly
through studies made among male workers.
AISHWARYA RAI BACCHAN: The 1994 Miss World is one of the biggest names in bollywood. She
had made international headlines and she brought Indian beauty into global focus.
SONIA GANDHI : The congress president and the chairperson of the ruling United Progressive
Alliance Sonia was named the third most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine in 2004
and currently ranks 13th. She said “no “to prime minister ship in 2004. But she wields more power and
the opposition parities called her a super PM.
DEFINITIONS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

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Women Entrepreneurs may be defined as the women or a group of women who initiate, organize and
operate a business enterprise. A woman entrepreneur is therefore a confident, creative and innovative
woman desiring economic independence individually and simultaneously creating employment
opportunities for others.
The Best Project No – 2 (2004) published by the European Commission defines a female entrepreneur
as a ‘woman who has created a business in which she has a majority shareholding and who takes an
active interest in the decision-making, risk-taking and day-today management.
The typical women businesses are mainly the extension of kitchen activities, i.e., the 3 Ps, viz., pickles,
powder and pappad. Owing to the various governmental schemes and efforts of various voluntary
organisations like Mahila Mandals, the number of women entrepreneurs is growing but slowly.
Considering the trend, their proportion in coming five years is likely to rise up to 20% raising the
number of women entrepreneurs to about 5,00,000.
With the spread of education and awareness, women entrepreneurs have shifted from the extended
kitchen activities, i.e., 3Ps to the higher level of activities, i.e., 3Es. viz., Engineering, Electronics and
Energy. Although the number of such units is not large, but it can be noted that women are putting up
units to manufacture solar-cookers (Gujarat), small foundries (Maharashtra), T.V. Capacitors (Odisha)
and electronic ancillaries (Kerala).
It seems worthwhile to make a mention, of course in brief, of some of the successful and accomplished
women entrepreneurs in the country. Smt. Sumati Morarji of Shipping Corporation, Smt. Yamutai
Kirloskar of Mahila Udyog Limited, Smt. Neena Malhotra in exports and Smt.
Shahanaj Hussain in beauty clinic cosmetics stand as beacon to women entrepreneurs, for example.
Further, since the inception of the National Awards to Small Entrepreneurs instituted in 1983, 10
women entrepreneurs have received special recognition awards. They attributed their success to their
untiring hard work, perseverance, tenaciousness, determination, confidence in them and most
importantly, their compelling urge of wanting to do something positive in their lives.
Added to these was a man behind every successful woman. Women entrepreneurs have several
qualities like perseverance, hard work, patience, optimism, intelligence, etc. From pharma to
designing, women entrepreneurs are spread across sectors.
CONCEPTOF A WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR

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The role of women at the work place has undergone a dramatic change in the last 50 years, just as the
view of entrepreneurships over the centuries. Just five decades ago, there were only a few women who
owned and operated their own businesses. The Second World War brought many more women into
the workforce, but such accepted social values as the male being the head of the house and women
being dependent and staying indoors did not create an environment conducive for women to work
unless there was a necessity.
Of late, women have tried to shed this traditional mould. Also, there have been significant social,
political, and economic changes that have created opportunities for women as well as given them
greater acceptance and recognition in the corporate world. A woman entrepreneur includes a woman
or a group of women who initiate, organize, and operate a business enterprise.
Slowly they are making their mark as business women and giving their male counterparts a run for
their money. Women entrepreneurs have been on the Indian business scene for quite some time now
and have achieved remarkable success. However, their number in relation to the overall number of
small scale enterprises is still very small. Worldwide too, the trend is not very much different.
THE INDIAN SCENARIO:
The situation is rather alarming in India. Statistics have revealed that almost all the non- working
women (including the ones in the unorganized sector), who comprise the majority of womenfolk in
the country, are in a state of complete dependence. With a view to improve the present situation, a
number of steps were taken at the national level to address various issues pertaining to them.
DEVELOPMENTINITIATIVES:
As far back as 1954, recognizing the presence of women as a distinct group with special needs, the
State—at the Union and State levels—introduced a number of programmers that were basically social
welfare and health schemes targeted at motherhood, family care, child welfare, etc.
The approach towards women was welfare-oriented where they were seen as the objects of state
benevolence rather than participants in the development process. In the 1970s, there was a shift in the
approach of the schemes from welfare to development. In 1974, the Committee on Status of Women

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in India recommended that only active participation of women would ensure their integration into
mainstream economy.
As a result, a number of development programmers aimed at improving the lot of women and girls
children as an important human resource were introduced. These included education and social
development schemes for the girl child at primary level and adult education for women. The plan
document then also envisaged giving joint titles to both the spouses in all legal activities such as –
transfer of assets, distribution of land/house sites, etc.
The results of such schemes are bearing fruit now and we have seen a perceptible and meaningful
improvement in the living standard of women even though a monumental task remains to be achieved
in this field.
NEED OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
1. 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.
2. Access to business support and information, including better integration of business services.
3. Access and vigilance on the latest information science and technology to match the basic
characteristics of entrepreneurs and the fundamental character of the Indian woman is necessary to
show that a lot of potential among Indian women for their entrepreneurial skills. This potential can be
considered as suspended and for use in manufacturing and services for the development of the nation.
4. The challenges and opportunities for women in the digital age are growing, as job seekers turn to
job creation. They are growing as a designer, interior designers, exporters, publishing, clothing and
always looking for new modes of economic participation. They have better access to local and foreign
markets.

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5. Day care centers and nurseries for children and also for the elderly;
6. Even as women are receiving education, they face the prospect of unemployment. In this
background, self-employment is regarded as a cure to generate income .The Planning commission as
well as the Indian government recognizes the need for women to be part of the mainstream of economic
development. Women entrepreneurship is seen as an effective strategy to solve the problems of rural
and urban poverty.
7. Positive image-building and change in mentality amongst women, whereby women see themselves
as capable achievers and build up confidence.
8. Self-motivation is the keyword – For establishing successful businesses learn to take risk and change
their attitude towards business society by taking up social responsibilities. Understand the government
business policies and get monetary help from public and private institutions.
9. Breaking through traditional patterns and structures that inhibit women’s advancement.
10. Develop confidence – Women in India lack self-assurance in their potency and proficiency.
However, over the last few years the outlook of Indian women is changing and they are fast emerging
as potential entrepreneurs.

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11. Role modeling of women in non-traditional business sectors to break through traditional views on
men’s and women’s sectors.
12. Understanding of Business Administration – Women should be highly educated and trained in their
area of knowledge so that they can attain expertise and understanding of all the major operational
aspects of business administration. This will assist a woman to take balanced decisions beneficial for
expanding her business network. For example, someone may have a tailoring shop but doesn’t know
how to sell its services to the military. So it is necessary to help them out in filling out the tenders,
getting their organization registered, etc. It’s a form of marketing support.
13. Women companies are fast-growing economies in almost all countries. The latent entrepreneurial
potential of women have changed little by little by the growing awareness of the role and status of
economic society. Skills, knowledge and adaptability of the economy led to a major reason for women
in business.
14. To give them more involvement and participation in legislation and decision-making processes.
15. Women entrepreneurs in India are handicapped in the matter of organizing and running businesses
on account of their generally low levels of skills and for want of support system. The transition from
homemaker to sophisticated business woman is not that easy. But the trend is changing. Women across
India are showing an interest to be economically independent. Women are coming forth to the business
arena with ideas to start small and medium enterprises. They are willing to be inspired by role models-
the experience of other women in the business arena.
16. Removing of any legislation which impedes women’s free engagement.
17. The role of women entrepreneurs is especially relevant in the situation of large scale unemployment
that the country faces. The modern large scale industry cannot absorb much of labor as it is capital
intensive. The small scale industry plays an important role, absorbing around 80 per cent of the
employment.
18. Awareness-raising at the governmental as well as private level to truly and really create
entrepreneurial opportunities and not just programs that stay on paper.
19. While women entrepreneurs have demonstrated their potential, the fact remains that they are
capable of contributing much more than what they already are. In order to harness their potential and
for their continued growth and development, it is necessary to formulate appropriate strategies for
stimulating, supporting and sustaining their efforts in this direction. Such a strategy needs to be in
congruence with field realities and should especially take cognizance of the problems women
entrepreneurs face within the current system

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IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
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, hard work, 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.

15
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 businesses 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
MAIN ENTREPRENEURIALTRAITS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
(I) Imagination:
It refers to the imaginative approach or original ideas with competitive market. Well planned approach
is needed to examine the existing situation and to identify the entrepreneurial opportunities. It further
implies that women entrepreneurs have association with knowledgeable people and contracting the
right organizations offering support and services.
ii) Attribute to Work Hard:
Enterprising women have further ability to work hard. The imaginative ideas have to come to a fair
play. Hard work is needed to build up an enterprise.
(iii) Persistence:
Women entrepreneurs must have an intention to fulfil their dreams. They have to make a dream
translated into an enterprise. Studies show that successful women have worked hard. They persisted

16
in getting loan from financial institutions and other inputs. They have persisted in adverse
circumstances and in adversity.
(iv) Ability and Desire to Take Risk:
The desire refers to the willingness to take risk and ability to the proficiency in planning, making
forecast, estimates and calculations. Profits are the reward of risk. Enterprising women take risk but
the risk is well calculated. It offers challenges where chances of survival and failure are on equal
footing.
SCOPE OF OPPORTUNITIESFOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
The modern world women has been able to overcome the hurdle of society’s perception of considering
them to the confined to the four walls of the house or viewing them as weak entrepreneurs caught up
in limited business area such as papad making, pickle preparation food items, paintings, handicrafts,
etc.
They have been able for show a remarkable shift from these small entrepreneurs at ventures to modern
technology-based business ventures such as-

17
FACTORS INFLUENCING WOMENENTREPRENEURSSHIP
1. Family culture and traditions – Family culture and traditions influence entrepreneurship.
Women entrepreneur will remain entrepreneur if its family tradition is so or if she belongs to a
pioneer entrepreneur.
2. Geographical factors and social factors – The society the state and the area to which she belongs
also influence the entrepreneurship. If she is a Punjabi or Gujrati belonging to their respective state,
will become entrepreneurs.
3. Caste system– The caste system also influences as a women who is Sindhi may start a business at
an early stage as in their caste or communities it is a trend.
4. Government aids and policies – Government can never increase entrepreneurship, it always
helps an entrepreneur. A capable person only can become entrepreneur even if she gets aids or
adopts policies to start a venture.
Government can help poor class people with reservations. Government help can be of significance if
entrepreneur takes its help for logical conclusions. But for this, caliber of an entrepreneur is also
seen.
5. Inherent capabilities and efficiency – Capabilities to withstand the competition with males
requires guts and dare to become an entrepreneur. Females require same capabilities as that of males.
They get benefit of being females only when the service has to be rendered to women only like in
hospitals etc. Capabilities influence the entrepreneurship but efficiency is also required as if the
person has capability to become an entrepreneur but if she is not efficient to run the venture she
cannot become a better entrepreneurship.
i. Push Factors:
a. Death of bread winner
b. Permanent inadequacy in income of the family
c. Sudden fall in family income
ii. Pull Factors:
a. Need and perception of Women’s Liberation, Equity etc.
b. To gain recognition, importance and social status.

18
c. To get economic independence
d. To utilize their free time or education
e. Women’s desire to evaluate their talent
THERE ARE FOUR MOTIVATING FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE A
WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR:
1. Recognition:
A woman entrepreneur is motivated by recognition in respect of admiration, regard, esteem and
celebrity. It is communication tools that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes
entrepreneurs create for the business.
2. Influence:
It is the capacity or power of a person to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions,
behavior, opinions, etc., of others.
3. Internal:
It is the main factor which motivates businesswomen. It is the internal factors which are very much
important for the motivation. It includes creativity, respect, and happiness of other people.
4. Profit:

19
It is not the true motivation which influences an entrepreneur. Welfare of the employees, payment of
tax to the government, is indirectly improving the living conditions of the entrepreneur. Thus the real
motivation for Apple to create and sell popular products like ipod, iPhone and ipad is probably not
money, but the interest.
EMERGENCEOF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
This is a dynamic world and it is changing at a greater speed. Changes have accrued in all spheres of
human activity including in their profession and vocation. Liberalisation has further accelerated the
pace of changes. The results of change are tangible and apparent.
It has contributed to the emergence of various classes of entrepreneurs including women whose entry
was insignificant and difficult once upon a time. This is a boon for sustained economic development
and social progress. Due to social transformation, spread of higher education, pro-women legislations,
spurting awareness, urbanization, family support etc., have contributed to the emergence of women
entrepreneurs in large numbers.
In former days, for various reasons, the entry of women into business field was almost restricted. For
women there were 3Ks- Kitchen, Kids and Knitting then came 3ps – powder, papad and pickles. Now
the scenario is completely changed. She came out of the four walls of house owing to social
transformation. Now the previous 3Ks and 3Ps are completely replaced by 4Ps, they are Electricity,
Electronic, Energy and Engineering. Women had undergone a long way and are becoming increasingly
visible and successful in all spheres of economic activities. This is true in case of Indian women also.
Women are not only involved in business activities for their survival. They want to satisfy their inner
urge of creativity and skill. For this purpose they have been formulating strategies and building a base.
Their numbers in education, politics, self-employment, profession etc., are increasing at a greater speed
also. Women education is the reason for social transformation. This will be seen from the entry of
women into areas traditionally dominate by men.
During these years women are taking more professional education to cope up with market need and
are flourishing in various areas. Important among them are – fashion designing, interior decoration,
exporting, publishing, garment manufacturing, beauty parlors, basket weaving, consultancies, content
writing, event planning, resume writing etc.

20
It is perhaps for these reasons; the government, NGOs, researchers and international agencies have
started showing interest in the issues related to entrepreneurship among women. This is true in India
also. Indian women are fast becoming entrepreneurs and taking up varied economic activities.
Women entrepreneurs explore the prospects of starting a new venture. They willing to assume risk,
introduce innovations, coordinate administration and control business by their skill and knowledge.
Many women succeeded in their missions and emerged as successful entrepreneurs.
The reasons attributed to this include the following;
i. Spread of Education and awareness
ii. Social transformation
iii. Technical and professional degrees
iv. Training programs
v. Government support, legal backup
vi. Aid from financial institutions
vii. Marketing support
As a result of the above facilitating factors, women have acquired managerial capacity, organizing
ability, knowledge, talent, undertaking risk, handling economic uncertainties. They acquired capacities
to mobilize funds, procure men, machine, materials etc., In a nutshell, they acquired everything to run,
maintain and control the enterprises and attained success.
FUNCTIONS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
The women entrepreneur has to react to new ideas, demand and exploit the opportunities and thereby
contribute to technical progress.
A women entrepreneur is expected to perform the following functions:

21
(a) Risks – The women entrepreneur has to take risks in the form of changes in tastes of consumers,
techniques of production and new innovations. Such risks can be minimized if women take earlier
initiative, use skill and judgment.
(b) Decision making – The women entrepreneur has to decide the nature of type of products to be
produced. She enters a particular industry which offers her the best prospects and products and
produces those goods which she thinks will pay her the most and employees those methods of
production which seems to her the most profitable. She effects suitable changes in the size of the
business, its location, techniques of production and does everything that is needed for the development
of her business.
(c) Innovation – The women entrepreneur conceives the idea for the improvement in the quality of
product line. She considers the economic viability and technological feasibility in bringing about
improved quality.
(d) Managerial function – She formulates production plans, arranges finance, purchase raw materials,
provides production amenities, organizes the sales and also undertake the task of personnel
management. She undertakes a venture, assumes risk and earns profit. She is a woman who has a strong
motivation to achieve success.
TRAITS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
1. Women are Ambitious:
A successful woman entrepreneur is dreadfully strong-minded one, has an inner urge or drives to
change contemplation into realism. Knowledge from her previous occupancy as an employee, relying
on educational qualifications or lessons learnt from inborn business, she is ready to grab opportunities,
sets goal, possess clear vision, steps confidently forward and is ambitious to be successful.
Every successful woman entrepreneur is truly determined to achieve goals and make her business
prosper. Thorough knowledge of the field is indispensable to success. She comes with new innovative
solutions to old problems to tide over issues.
2. Women are Confident:
A successful woman entrepreneur is confident in her ability. She is ready to learn from others, search
for help from experts if it means adding value to her goals. She is positive in nature and is keener to
take risks. A winning woman entrepreneur uses common intelligence to make sound judgments when
encountering everyday situations.

22
This is gleaned from past experience and information acquired over the years. It is essential not to get
aggravated and give up when you face obstacles and trials. The aptitude to explore uncharted territories
and take bold decisions is the hallmark of a successful woman entrepreneur. A successful woman
usually loves what she does.
She is extremely fervent about her tasks and activities. Her high energy levels motivate her to
contribute immensely towards building, establishing and maintaining a prosperous business.
3. Women is Open and Willing to Learn:
A successful woman entrepreneur keeps side by side of changes, as she is fully conscious of the
importance of evolving changes. She is ahead of her competitors and thrives on changes. She adapts
her business to changes in technology or service prospect of her patrons. She is inquisitive, concerned
to learn and accommodative to innovations.
4. Women are CostConscious:
A successful woman entrepreneur prepares pragmatic budget estimates. She provides cost effective
quality services to her clients. With minimized cost of operations, she is able to force her team to
capitalize on profits and gather its benefits.
5. Women Values Cooperation and Allegiance:
A woman has the ability to work with all levels of populace. She is keen on maintaining associations
and communicates evidently and efficiently. This helps her to negotiate even responsive issues without
difficulty. She is sympathetic to people around her and have good networking skills that help her to
get better contacts and utilize opportunities.
6. Women can Balance Home and Work:
A successful woman entrepreneur is good at balancing varied aspects of life. Her multitasking aptitude
combined with support from spouse and relatives enables her to bring together business priorities with
domestic responsibilities competently and efficiently.
ROLE OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN SOCIETY

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According to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, “When women moves forward, the family moves, the village
moves, and the nation moves.”
Women entrepreneurship has been recognized as an important, untapped source of economic growth
during the last decade. With the spread of education and awareness, Indian women have shifted from
the extended kitchen, handicrafts, and traditional cottage industries to non-traditional, higher level of
activities.
In the new industrial policy, the government has laid special emphasis on the need of conducting
special entrepreneurial training programs for women to enable them to start their own ventures.
Financial banks and institutions have also set up special cells to assist women entrepreneurs. This has
helped the women a lot in taking up the entrepreneurial activity in India.
Estimates in Europe (both European Union countries and other), indicate that there exist more than 10
million self-employed women and in the United States 6.4 million self-employed women providing
employment for 9.2 million people and creating significant sales. Women entrepreneurs not only create
new jobs for themselves, but also provide jobs to others. However, the participation of women
entrepreneurs is less than male entrepreneurs.
THE ROLE OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IS EXPLAINED IN THE
FOLLOWING POINTS:
i. Employment Generation:
It implies that women entrepreneurs not only establish their enterprise, but provide job to others.
Women entrepreneurship is about women’s position in the society and their role as entrepreneurs in
the same society. It can be understood in two ways, namely, at the individual level (number of self-
employed) and at the firm level (number of firms owned by women and their economic impact). In
this way, woman entrepreneurs have an important impact on the economy in terms of their ability to
create jobs for themselves as well as for others.
ii. Economic Development:
It signifies that women entrepreneurs contribute to the gross domestic product of the country by
establishing enterprises and producing goods and services. Due to their entrepreneurial activity,
women entrepreneurs bring dynamism in market. In this way, they also help in increasing the national
income of the country.
iii. Better Utilization of Resources:

24
It implies that the involvement of women in industrial development ensure the effective utilization of
all available resources (labor, raw materials, capital). The issue of women in the industrialization
process has been emphasized only in the last decade when the ‘Declaration of Mexico in July 1975’,
the equality of womanhood and their contribution to individual development became the center of
attention.
iv. Improved Quality of Life:
It implies that women entrepreneurs are now economically independent and take decisions
independently. They are now capable of upbringing their children according to their wish. They are
providing quality education to their children and a better living standard to their family members. They
not only improve their living standards, but also the living standards of others by providing them the
means of earning.
FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR INCREASING FEMALE
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN INDIA
In spite of the growing number of female entrepreneurs, the share of female entrepreneurs is still
significantly low when compared to their participation rate.
However, there are several factors responsible for increasing the level of female entrepreneurship in
India:
1. Nature of Entrepreneurship:
Women enter into entrepreneurial activity because regular employment does not provide them with
the flexibility, control or challenge offered by business ownership.
2. Empowerment:
Indian women are becoming more empowered now-a-days. Legislations are being progressively
drafted to offer them more opportunities at various levels.
3. Social Conditions:
For women, in particular, the relatively high involvement in necessary entrepreneurship indicates that
self-employment is used as a way to circumvent institutional and cultural constraints with respect to
female employment, as well as a way to provide supplemental family income.
4. Literacy and Education:

25
Increased levels of education have played a crucial role in initiating the process of entrepreneurship.
It is not only the illiterate that are starting the businesses but those with education and skills are also
exploiting profit opportunities.
5. Multitask Oriented:
Women are known for juggling many tasks at the same time and still producing excellent results. A
woman can talk on the phone, open and read her email and schedule what else she needs to finish for
the rest of the day all at the same time. Men have more trouble with this multitasking thing; therefore
sometimes they miss many opportunities.
6. Being Patient with the Process:
This is an extremely important attribute for entrepreneurs to have. Too often we hear of visionary
entrepreneurs who tried to start their businesses and after a few months gave up. Very often we find
these entrepreneurs gave up on their dreams too soon. They became impatient with the process.
Women know naturally that you must wait in order to receive positive outcomes.
7. Branding and Marketing Themselves:
Women are natural marketers. They are so passionate and enthusiastic about what they choose to do
that they just do not stop talking about it. They don’t forget to emphasize the benefits of their services
to their potential customers. They understand how to emphasize the positive.
8. Collaborator:
Women entrepreneurs are becoming more and more successful because they are natural collaborators
and love doing project together. When they find likeminded women whom they like and think they
can accomplish something with by combining their talents they do it. A collaborative spirit and attitude
reigns with women a competitive attitude is rarely seen and considered unsavory when witnessed.
Women do work they love to do and they feel great when they can do it with other women.
9. Structural Shift:
One of the primary drivers is a structural shift. Women are now a greater part of the economic make-
up of society; there are more women in the workforce. They are resourceful, leaving the workforce to
stay home and raise a family, re-entering when the kids are grown or working a flex schedule when
their kids go to school.
10. It’s the Blend:
One of the biggest reasons women entrepreneurs are now in the forefront is their desire to blend career
and life ambitions. Their personal goals are oftentimes meshed with career goals. They put their

26
passions into practice and it shines through in entrepreneurial endeavors. For them it’s not just a job,
it’s a significant part of who they are.
11. Relating to Customers’ Needs:
One of the biggest reasons women entrepreneurs are so successful is they are more conscious of their
customers’ needs. Men for the most part are not customers they’re consumers. It is the big difference.
As a woman they shop for price of course, but what is just as important is the buying experience. If
the service is poor or they can’t relate to the employees then it doesn’t matter what it costs. It’s all
about word of mouth and customer loyalty.
12. Integrity of Relationships:
Women’s ability to nurture the whole relationship is what makes them great as entrepreneurs. They
naturally listen to understand, so they can connect across business boundaries to give solid integrity to
relationships. Whether they are talking to a major account, negotiating with a vendor or coaching an
employee, it’s more than just about that one issue. Their want of making a wide and deep relationship
is one thing of many that makes them great entrepreneurs.
13. Resourcefulness of Women:
There are a growing number of work-at-home moms starting a business from their homes while taking
care of their families. Most do it to augment the income of their families, without leaving their homes.
Others want to do something economically and financially productive with their time if a corporate
career is out of the question at this point. Still others have stumbled upon an opportunity that can be
done while staying at home to be with their children.
14. Women are Social:
Entrepreneurs now have to be engaged in social media to be successful. By nature, women are social.
They can leverage social media in ways that can help jumpstart new businesses quickly and cheaply.
Whether it is engaging customers via Twitter, blog, forum or Facebook, they are good at gathering
people and starting conversations.

27
LITERATURE REVIEW
1. V Krishnamoorthy and R Balasubramani (April 2014): Identified the important women
entrepreneurial motivation factors and its impact on entrepreneurial success. The study identified
ambition, skills and knowledge, family support, market opportunities, independence, government
subsidy and satisfaction are the important entrepreneurial motivational factors. The study also
concluded that ambition‘, knowledge and skill‘, independence‘ dimensions of entrepreneurial
motivational has significant impact on entrepreneurial success.
2. G. Palaniappan, C. S. Ramanigopal, A. Mani (19 March 2012): In their article analyzed that
women have been successful in breaking their barriers within the limits of their homes by entering into
varied kinds of professionals and services. Skill, knowledge and adaptability in business are the main
reasons for women to emerge into business ventures. This study had also been carried out to analyze
the motivational factors and other factors that influence women to become entrepreneurs, the major
strength and weakness of women entrepreneurs and the environmental opportunities and threats which
promote the entrepreneurship, and to offer suggestions to promote women entrepreneurship of selected
districts in Tamilnadu. This study concluded that due to lack of training and education they are not able
to survive in the market. Finance is also the major problem for women entrepreneurs.

28
3. Anita Tripathy Lal‘s (November 15, 2012): Main objective of this research was to study the
significant rise of Women Entrepreneurs in India and how it has evolved since the pre-independence
days (before 1947), during the British colonial days. The study also analyzed the reasons that have
prompted the women entrepreneurs to unleash their entrepreneurial energies into start-ups. Based on
both qualitative and quantitative analyses the growth of women entrepreneurship in India have been
studied into four different periods - PreIndependence Period (before 1947), Post-Independence Period
(after 1947), Post-Liberalization Period (after 1991) and Post -Global Recession period (2008
onwards). The study finally concluded to what extent the various support systems in India can further
foster a conducive ecosystem for the Women Entrepreneurs in India.
4. Cohoon, Wadhwa and Mitchell (2010): Presented a detailed exploration of men & women
entrepreneur‘s motivations, background and experiences. This study identified top five financial and
psychological factors motivating women to become entrepreneurs. These are desire to build the wealth,
the wish to capitalize own business ideas they had, the appeal of startup culture, a long standing desire
to own their own company and working with someone else did not appeal them. The study concluded
that the women are very much concerned about protecting intellectual capital than their counterpart.
Mentoring is very important to women, which provides encouragement & financial support of business
partners, experiences & well developed professional network.
5. Dr. Sunil Deshpande& Ms. SunitaSethi, Shodh, Samikshaaur Mulyankan(Oct.-Nov.-2009) :In
their research paper exhibits the encouraging and discouraging factors in an enterprise and to provide
solutions to the various problems faced by the women entrepreneur group. For the betterment of women
entrepreneur emphasize should be on educating women strata of population, spreading awareness and
consciousness amongst women to outshine in the enterprise field, making them realize their strengths,
and important position in the society and the great contribution they can make for their industry as well
as the entire economy.
6. Veena S. Samani, (2008): In her thesis threw light on a specific section of working class – the
women engaged in food processing. The study shows that majority of women in Gujarat have expertise
and unique skill of preparing and processing food. The food processing may be of different types and
quantity, but these enterprises have been found to be great success whether attached with home or not.
The present study also throws light on their knowledge, attitude and practices and problems. Stress was
the major problem faced by all the selected women. The researcher found that, most of the women
entrepreneur were Hindus, around 65% of women belonged to nuclear families and small number of
women had obtained formal training.

29
7. Singh, Surinder Pal, (2008) : In this study identifies the reasons and influencing factors behind
entry of women in entrepreneurship. He mentioned the obstacles in the growth of women
entrepreneurship are mainly lack of interaction with successful entrepreneurs, social un-acceptance as
women entrepreneurs, family responsibility, gender discrimination, missing network, low priority
given by bankers to provide loan to women entrepreneurs. He suggested the remedial measures like
promoting micro enterprises, unlocking institutional frame work, projecting and pulling to grow and
support the winners etc.
8. Lall, Madhurima, and SahaiShikha (2008): Identified Psychographic variables like, degree of
commitment, entrepreneurial challenges & future plan for expansion, based on demographic variables.
The study identified business owner‘s characteristics as self-perception self-esteem, Entrepreneurial
intensity & operational problem for future plans for growth & expansion. The study suggested that
though, there has been considerable growth in number of women opting to work in family owned
business but they still have lower status and face more operational challenges in running business.
9. Binitha. V. Thampi (January 2007): In his thesis attempts to understand the association between
women's work and children's well-being in a specific social setting. It also tries to explain the causal
relationship of women's work status on child well-being. It was found that as the number of activities
on the work front increases, the amount of time that mothers spend on childcare decreases. This study
shows that though maternal employment does not result in child morbidity outcomes, it certainly
constrains women in finding alternate care arrangements as well as compelling them to perform most
of the work in the childcare regime.
10. Sairbell Kurbah, Martin Luther(2007): In their article investigated the multi-factorial nature of
women‘s role in economic development in the East Khasi Hills area of Meghalaya state, to determine
the enabling and constraining factors associated with successful entrepreneurship in terms of
personal, social, cultural, political and economic characteristics. Despite average education and
humble family backgrounds, the Khasi women have been equal to men in being quite enterprising
and successful, through hard work, patience, and good public relations. Khasi culture is in fact a
strong influence in promoting such enduring traits among women, who have been able to build an
economic base strong enough to provide their children with a good starting point in life. A higher
level of education and employable skills for women entrepreneurs can help in improving their levels
of productivity, and promote risk-taking and innovativeness.

30
Objectives:
The study is based on secondary data which is collected from the published reports of RBI, NABARD,
Census Surveys, SSI Reports, newspapers, journals, websites, etc. The study was planned with the
following objectives:
 To identify the reasons for women for involving themselves in entrepreneurial activities.
 To determine the possible success factors for women in such entrepreneurial activities.
 To make an evaluation of people’s opinion about women entrepreneurship.
 To discuss the development of women entrepreneurs through small and medium enterprises.
 To highlight the factors influencing the women entrepreneurs.
 To study the major constraints faced by the women entrepreneurs.
 To draw conclusions and suggestions.
HYPOTHESIS:
For the purpose of the study, the hypothesis which will be tested is as follows:
Null Hypothesis H0: There is no significant difference between the perception of uneducated women
entrepreneurs and educated women entrepreneurs with respect to the success factors critical to
business.
The null hypothesis is established on the pedestal that successful businesses are run by both educated
and uneducated women given that they have the requisite skill set to nurture and sustain the business.
The said hypothesis will be tested in MS-excel by using t-test assuming unequal variance.
Alternative Hypothesis: There is a significant difference between Education Qualification respondent
and the supporting agencies.
DATA COLLECTION:
Primary Data: Primary data has been collected through a general public survey in which a structured
questionnaire was created and the responses were gathered from people of different age groups and
professions.
Secondary data: Secondary data has been contributed to write this paper. Secondary data collected
from National & International Journals, published reports of RBI, NABARD, Census Surveys,
newspapers, publications from various websites which focused on various aspects of the government
focusing on the issue of Women Entrepreneurship.

31
SAMPLING UNIT:
Convenience sampling was used for the survey 120 Women Entrepreneur were selected as sample.
The questionnaires were distributed to the respondents in the selected sample.
TARGET AUDIENCE:
The question is filled out by the working women’s.
SAMPLE SIZE:
The total sample size of study is 120.
SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:
The samples are collected from Working women’s.
SURVEY ANALYSIS DATA
Questions Options Percentage
Q1. Do you believe that women
are facing difficulties reaching
managerial and decision-
making positions?
a) Yes
b) No
74%
26%
Q2. Do you believe that there is
a gender gap in both computer
professions and new
professions linked to new
communication technology?
a) Yes
b) No
75%
25%
Q3. Choose the areas of
Entrepreneurship Development
programs (EDPs) for women
entrepreneurs from the
following areas.
a) Small Enterprise Management
b) Identification of Business
Opportunities
c) Technical Skill Development
d) Information Technology
e) Stress Management
16%
23%
24%
25%
27%

32
f) Total Quality Management
g) Increasing social recognition to
women
31%
16%
Q4. In your opinion, what are
the reasons for more
opportunities for women
entrepreneurs in Service
Enterprise?
a) It can be operated from house itself.
b) It can be operated as per convenience
of time.
c) It matches with women temperament.
d) It requires less amount of finance.
e) It requires less traveling to women.
f) It requires less employees.
10%
27%
21%
31%
35%
24%
Q5. In your opinion, what are
the reasons for more
opportunities for women
entrepreneurs in Manufacturing
Enterprise?
a) It is more profitable
b) It is more creative & innovative
business line
c) It gives satisfaction of producing own
production
d) It is more suitable for skilled
entrepreneurs
20%
25%
28%
27%
Q6. What generally are the
ambitions of women
entrepreneurs?(rank)
a) Millionaire
b) Highly educated
c) Medical doctor
d) Good housewife
0%
8%
17%
9%

33
e) Successful entrepreneur
f) Political leader
10%
6%
Q7. What are the motivators in
starting the enterprise? (rank)
a) Husband
b) Family members
c) Friends
d) Relatives
e) Govt. Agencies
33%
22%
25%
12%
8%
Q8. What according to you are
the influencing factors of
a) Success Stories
b) Previous Association
c) Inherited Property
d) Advice of Family
46%
26%
16%
12%
Q9. What according to you are
the compelling reasons for
a) Unemployment
b) Dissatisfying jobs
c) Use of ideal fund
d) Use of technical skill
e) Leisure time on hand.
6%
18%
10%
11%
5%
Q10. What are the problems
coming in the way of
professional/social/occupational
mobility of women
entrepreneurs?
(i) Multiple duties
(ii) Limited resources
(iii) Prerequisite of stability/security
responsible for creating certain problems
7%
14%
20%

34
(iv) Lack of self-confidence usually
required for establishing one’s self in a
lasting manner
(v) Lack of fully grown-up business
(vi) Expanding one’s base in a stable
manner
16%
22%
21%
Q11. What are the problems in
availing of the government’s
help?
(i) Delaying tactics by the concerned
government department
(ii) A large number of official formalities
(iii) Discrimination with women
entrepreneurs
(iv) Unnecessary governmental
interference
(v) Ignorance of laws, procedures by
women entrepreneurs
(vi) Lack of specific policy towards the
protection of the interest of women
entrepreneurs
24%
33%
25%
22%
24%
14%
Q12. Are there some marketing
problems also? If so, then:
(i) Competitive challenges
(ii) Inadequate information about
changing market forces
(iii) Challenges posed by the availability
of fake/spurious products with the same
label
13%
25%
26%

35
(iv) Lack of encouraging response from
the customer
(v) Lack of travelling mobility and facility
(vi) Delay in collection of payment
(vii) Indifferent attitude of the fellow
entrepreneurs
(viii) Lack of adequate publicity in the
midst of competitive market forces
20%
25%
21%
21%
15%
DATA ANALYSIS,INTERPRETATION AND PRESENTATION
Q1. Do you believe that women are facing difficulties reaching managerial and decision-making
positions?
Yes / No

36
74 percent of the people believe that women are facing difficulties reaching managerial and decision
making positions. This is a matter of concern in our developing country where women are trying their
hardest to reach greater heights but still their efforts are not enough due to certain factors which are
listed in further questions.
Q2. Do you believe that there is a gender gap in both computer professions and new professions linked
to new communication technology?
Yes/ No.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Yes No
Response
Response

37
This is also a matter of heavy concern as the government has tried its best to remove the prevailing
gender barrier, but if it is still present, then it can be removed only through personal decisions and
awareness.
Q3. Choose the areas of Entrepreneurship Development programs (EDPs) for women entrepreneurs
from the following areas.
a) Small Enterprise Management
b) Identification of Business Opportunities
Yes
75%
No
25%
Response
Yes No

38
c) Technical Skill Development
d) Information Technology
e) Stress Management
f) Total Quality Management
g) Increasing social recognition to women
Mostly women in IT sector want to change their professions to becoming entrepreneurs.
Q4. In your opinion, what are the reasons for more opportunities for women entrepreneurs in Service
Enterprise?
i) It can be operated from house itself.
ii) It can be operated as per convenience of time.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Small Enterprise Management
Identification of Business Opportunities
Technical Skill Development
Information Technology
Stress Management
Total Quality Management
Increasing social recognition to women
Response
Response

39
iii) It matches with women temperament.
iv) It requires less amount of finance.
v) It requires less traveling to women.
vi) It requires less employees.
Q5. In your opinion, what are the reasons for more opportunities for women entrepreneurs in
Manufacturing Enterprise?
i) It is more profitable
ii) It is more creative & innovative business line
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
I T CA N B E O P E R A T E D F R O M H O U S E
I T S E L F .
I T CA N B E O PE R A T E D A S PE R
CO N V E N I E N CE O F T I ME
I T MA T CH E S W I T H W O ME N T E MP E R A ME N T
I T R E Q U I R E S L E S S A MO U N T O F F I N A N CE
I T R E Q U I R E S L E S S T R A V E L I N G T O W O ME N
I T R E Q U I R E S L E S S E MPL O Y E E S
10
27
21
31
35
24
Series 1

40
iii) It gives satisfaction of producing own production
iv) It is more suitable for skilled entrepreneurs
Mostly entrepreneurship is preferred over because it is a more creative and innovative line of work.
Q6. What generally are the ambitions of women entrepreneurs?
(Give rank)
Millionaire
Highly educated
Medical doctor
20%
25%
28%
27%
0%
Sales
It is more profitable
It is more creative &innovative business
line
It gives satisfaction of producing own
production
It is more suitable for skilled
entrepreneurs
Others

41
Good housewife
Successful entrepreneur
Political leader
Most women want to become clinical doctors.
Q7. What are the motivators in starting the enterprise? (give rank)
a) Husband
b) Family members
c) Friends
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Millionaire
Highly educated
Medical doctor
Good housewife
Successful entrepreneur
Political leader
Millionaire Highly educated Medical doctor Good housewife
Successful
entrepreneur
Political leader
0 8 17 9 10 6

42
d) Relatives
e) Govt. Agencies
Husbands are the best support for women entrepreneurs.
Q8. What according to you are the influencing factors of starting the enterprise? (rank)
a) Success Stories
b) Previous Association
c) Inherited Property
Husband
33%
Family members
22%
Friends
25%
Relatives
12%
Govt. Agencies
8%

43
d) Advice of Family
Successful stories motivate women to follow the same path the most.
Q9. What according to you are the compelling reasons for starting the enterprise? (rank)
Unemployment / Dissatisfying jobs / Use of ideal fund / Use of technical skill /Leisure time on hand.
46%
26%
16%
12%
Success Stories Previous Association Inherited Property Advice of Family

44
Dissatisfying jobs is the major reason for women to shift to become entrepreneurs.
Q10 What are the problems coming in the way of professional/social/occupational mobility of women
entrepreneurs?
(i) Multiple duties
(ii) Limited resources
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Unemployment Dissatisfying jobs Use of ideal fund Use of technical
skill
Leisure time on
hand
6
18
10
11
5

45
(iii) Prerequisite of stability/security responsible for creating certain problems
(iv) Lack of self-confidence usually required for establishing one’s self in a lasting manner
(v) Lack of fully grown-up business
(vi) Expanding one’s base in a stable manner
Limited resources become the biggest problem in occupational mobility of women entrepreneurs. This
needs to be improved on an elementary basis by efficient and equal distribution of resources for all.
Q11. What are the problems in availing of the government’s help?
(i) Delaying tactics by the concerned government department
(ii) A large number of official formalities
(iii) Discrimination with women entrepreneurs
(iv) Unnecessary governmental interference
Multiple duties
7%
Limitedresources
14%
Prerequisite of
stability/security
responsible forcreating
certainproblems
20%
Lack of self-confidence
usuallyrequired for
establishing one’s self
in a lastingmanner
16%
Lack of fullygrown-up
business
22%
Expandingone’s base in
a stable manner
21%

46
(v) Ignorance of laws, procedures by women entrepreneurs
(vi) Lack of specific policy towards the protection of the interest of women entrepreneurs
A large number of official formalities is the biggest issue in women availing government facilities.
Paperwork needs to be reduced and simplified to promote rural as well as urban entrepreneurship.
Q12. Are there some marketing problems also? If so, then:
(i) Competitive challenges
(ii) Inadequate information about changing market forces
(iii) Challenges posed by the availability of fake/spurious products with the same label
(iv) Lack of encouraging response from the customer
(v) Lack of travelling mobility and facility
(vi) Delay in collection of payment
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Delaying tactics by the concerned government department
A large number of official formalities
Discrimination with women entrepreneurs
Unnecessary governmental interference
Ignorance of laws, procedures by women entrepreneurs
Lack of specific policy towards the protection of the
interest of women entrepreneurs
24
33
25
22
24
14
Series 1

47
(vii) Indifferent attitude of the fellow entrepreneurs
(viii) Lack of adequate publicity in the midst of competitive market forces
This tells us that the major marketing problem faced by women are the Challenges posed by the
availability of fake/spurious products with the same label and lack of mobility for women along with
indifferent attitude towards fellow entrepreneurs. This is a serious issue and the
government should avail easy transport mobility to women and control the selling of fake and spurious
products in the market.
CONCLUSION
This study was conducted with the intention to identify and examine the factors responsible for success
of business owned and controlled by women in India. The study was conducted in urban Bhiwandi
with 92 women entrepreneurs being interviewed. The samples were collected mainly by non-
probability snow-ball sampling technique and convenience sampling. It was concluded that personal
attribute is the most crucial factor. We found that the perception of educated women differ from
uneducated ones regarding all five success factors is different. Women run businesses face significant
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Axis
Title
Competitive
challenges
Inadequate
information
about
changing
market
forces
Challenges
posed by the
availability of
fake/spuriou
s products
with the
Lack of
encouraging
response
from the
customer
Lack of
travelling
mobility and
facility
Delay in
collection of
payment
Indifferent
attitude of
the fellow
entrepreneu
rs
Lack of
adequate
publicity in
the midst of
competitive
market
forces
13 25 26 20 25 21 21 15

48
challenges as compared to men. We can infer that women face gender discrimination, are bothered by
male dominance, and are pushed into entrepreneurship due to unemployment.
Despite few limitations, this study has been able to convey to women of different sections of society
how they should change their mindset from being confined to walls to take up entrepreneurship. These
methods have motivated existing entrepreneurs to take their entrepreneurship skills to greater heights
which they are capable of. Discussions will surely increase the women workforce as they will be good
enough to take up responsibilities as good as men. Personal opinions would help women get an
inspiration to take up entrepreneurship for living. Case studies will stir their minds and lead them to
greatest unimaginable heights. The whole motive behind was to highlight that women can contribute
to the economy. It is these innovative minds which can cause growth of the economy to a level which
even men can’t imagine. India needs women to stand up and contribute towards the economy.
I would like to conclude with a famous saying by Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam:
“Empowering Women is a prerequisite for creating a good nation, when women are empowered,
society with stability is assured. Empowerment of women is essential as their thoughts and their value
systems lead to the development of a good family, good society and ultimately a good nation”.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 A Vasumathi, S. Govindarajulu, E K Anuradha and R. Amudha, “Stress and Coping Styles of
an Entrepreneur: An Empirical Study”, Journal of Management Research, April 2003.
 Ajay Lakhanpal, (1990), Entrepreneurial Development – An Institutional Approach, Common
Wealth Publishers, New Delhi.
 Allan R Cohen, “Mainstreaming Corporate Entrepreneurship: Leadership at every level of
organization”, The ICFAI Journal of Entrepreneurship Development, March.

49
 Amuthalakshmi P. and Kamalanabhan T.J., (2006), “A Study on Education and
Entrepreneurship development” Small Enterprises Development, Management and Extension
Journal,Vol.33 No.1, Mar. 2006.
 Anil Kumar, “Women entrepreneurs: Their Profile and Barriers in Business”, Indian Journal
of social development, December 2004.
WEBILIOGRAPHY
 https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/398145
 https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/women_entrepreneurs.html
 https://savvywomen.tomorrowmakers.com/wise/6-young-female-entrepreneurs-india-who-
are-making-mark-article

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