Female entrepreneurship is on the rise all over the world. But in India, female entrepreneurs face unique difficulties. Cultural norms and a lack of support from society and the government combine to create an especially challenging environment for Indian women entrepreneurs. Despite these challenges, some Indian women are managing to find success as entrepreneurs. They are leveraging their creativity and resilience to build businesses that meet the needs of their communities. But that alone doesn’t make this situation good, right?
The truth is that a majority of female entrepreneurs continue to face several difficulties that their male counterparts do not. These include, but are not limited to, a lack of access to capital, being taken less seriously by investors and clients, and balancing work and family responsibilities. In this essay, we will explore the difficulties female entrepreneurs face in India because we can only tackle this problem by addressing it. There is no easy way around it.
Problems faced by female entrepreneurs in India
Gender bias
Unconscious gender bias is unconscious and automatic mental associations based on gender that are influenced by traditions, norms, values, culture, and experience. This is one of the most important factors influencing the performance of the majority of female entrepreneurs in India. Even if your immediate society is not consciously and openly biased, the automatic associations they make when assessing an individual are equally dangerous. These unconscious perceptions they form about you will influence their decision-making, which will most likely be unfavourable to a female entrepreneur.
Financial barrier
While entrepreneurship is an inherently risky endeavour, women are frequently stereotyped as less willing to take risks. As one interview partner observed, stereotypes appear to manifest in behaviour as fewer women actively approach investors and are more reluctant to divest stakes. However, when women approach investors, they are perceived differently than men, and investors have been found to prefer pitches delivered by men over those delivered by women, despite identical content. Further difficulties in obtaining funding arise because Indian women rarely own property that can be used as collateral for loans. Furthermore, while approximately 79 per cent of women-owned ventures are self-financed, families are frequently hesitant to support their daughters’ entrepreneurial ventures financially.
Networks and relationships
One of the most frequently mentioned barriers to women’s leadership is masculine corporate culture. Women entrepreneurs are not at ease in major industry networks. Not being a part of such networks impedes the progress of women entrepreneurs because, as the larger study discovered, relationships are extremely important in the Indian context. Women entrepreneurs miss important opportunities to mingle and connect with market participants and, as a result, struggle even more than male entrepreneurs to gain market access.
Family support
The other side of the “business is a man’s domain” coin is that dominant social norms expect women to take care of their homes first and foremost. In fact, many Indian women take on more domestic responsibilities and spend five times as much time as men on housework, household care, and other unpaid activities. Because juggling home and business can be difficult, family support is a critical success factor for Indian female entrepreneurs. Nowadays, women’s most important career decision is who they will marry and whether they will marry at all.
Child care
While some people regard entrepreneurial careers as difficult to reconcile with domestic responsibilities, they may be a good opportunity for women because they allow them to work with more flexible hours and space. However, when women entrepreneurs become mothers, they frequently face additional challenges. On the one hand, they are not eligible for maternity leave. When women return to work, they require assistance, and some female entrepreneurs live with or near grandparents who can care for their children. On the other hand, those who are less fortunate face a lack of childcare options. Some women consider hiring nannies, but negative stereotypes play a role. They are afraid of being labelled selfish and thus feel guilty.
Well, one can for a certain state that these are only some of the problems a female entrepreneur face in India. There are far more serious and impactful problems than this. So, if you are a female who is planning or aiming towards becoming an entrepreneur in India, then understand the boulders that can come your way to success and plan ahead. That is the only thing you do to prosper at this moment.