Women Entrepreneurs Bring In The Voices
Being natural multi-taskers, women in lead roles bring in many layers of dynamism as also empathy, mostly lacking in male run set ups. They tend to structure their environment with creative inputs on work life balance to also prompt softer skill sets, unique to their gender. But more women need to be heard to urge yet more to step forward. Nothing in my life had prepared me for a long career stint spanning two diverse jobs and then a dive into being an entrepreneur. I was neither encouraged nor allowed to harbor a dream of seeking a serious profession apart from opting for the Civil Services, which was considered `respectable.’ Belonging from a family with conventional strappings even though my parents were of modern outlook, I had to `rein in’ and not `lean in.’
And that is how the cookie crumbles for most Indian women, particularly for the baby boomer generation. The spoken or unspoken cultural mores, the societal conditioning of the mental framework of not looking beyond home and family is what our generation was nurtured with. Which is why the participation of women in the entrepreneurial ambit in India has been minimal. And even though the millennial aspirations stand apart, the data still shows a dismal 13.76% of women entrepreneurs in India. Research shows that most enterprises founded in the last decade are by men, with 49% of women agreeing that gender biases while starting their own businesses, exist. And despite the 58% of those interviewed, agreeing that women can mentor other women better than men, the gap is glaring.
There are many factors that play out as impediments for women to actualize their ambitions of founding their own enterprise. Of primary concern are - expectations from the family, under the radar social and financial support, lack of reliable childcare, absence of safety nets that are an absolute necessity while networking amongst varied social and business circles. While those of us who were able to skirt around these issues and break barriers, considered ourselves ‘lucky,’ it immediately puts the spotlight on the fact that unfortunately, we exist only as exceptions and that supportive environment is not necessarily the norm.
And ever so often, when our sweat and toil is dismissed as just a ‘hobby,’ it is the penultimate decimation of the already existing self-doubts.
Women of my generation are generally risk-averse and hence finances are mostly from personal accruals. Loans often remain far from reach, as most women in India do not own property for collaterals against institutional borrowings. This accounts for either slow growth graph of a scalable business or a complete no-show.
And yet given the social trajectory of women holding back as per expectations, the curve has been impressive. The upward swing of women led startups, from ground zero to the current percentage with the `lucky’ ones from my generation and a sizeable number from the next generation, making either a conscious decision of racing with their passion or for lack of satisfying or gratifying jobs, has been constant. So what gives?
My personal observance points to the direction of aspirants aligning with inspiring personalities; their journey, their struggles, solutions, compromises all leading to eventual success; stories of navigating through the barriers and the applied methodology thereof; stories of personal determinations, are all where the real triggers of motivation lie. It is a whole mindset orientation synced with another individual’s achievement. This is where dreams are launched. Clearly, women entrepreneurs need to be heard more. More the voices, more the stimulus. For performance and success. And more the enterprises, more the employment too. It is how the wheels of economy should run. With more hands on the deck!
And it is how women and their ambitions must be fostered and steered to envision their goals. By their peers and family, by society and the Government as well. More SOPs, more attention, more confidence-building and more staying power so they no longer have to `rein in’ and instead actively `lean in.’
The author is Archana Kumari Singh From House Of Badnore
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