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India has become an emerging powerhouse for startups in the recent decade. The expanding economy has created more entrepreneurs, especially women. As of now, women comprise 14% of the total entrepreneurs in India.
Women entrepreneurs have played a pivotal role in shaping modern India because of their superior leadership abilities and higher levels of output. Women entrepreneurs are widely marketing their presence across various industries, fuelling the country’s economy by creating job opportunities and making significant contributions.
Despite the success as an emerging driving force for the country, women are frequently subjected to societal, patriarchal, and gender differences. These problems faced by women entrepreneurs in India have often suppressed many women from becoming great entrepreneurs.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common problems faced by women entrepreneurs in India.
Women’s success as entrepreneurs is often overshadowed by various struggles they face in and out of their work environment. Women face infinite difficulties on a day-to-day basis. Some of the most common challenges faced by businesswomen in India are given below:
Traditional Indian culture expects women to prioritise their family over business or career. This forces women to limit their time to focus on business. Women face pressures to meet societal expectations, which can directly limit their ambitions to become entrepreneurs.
Women are expected to fulfil domestic responsibilities, leaving them with less time and energy to contribute to their personal growth as entrepreneurs.
Some women entrepreneurs work for their families and the future not because they are expected to but because it is their responsibility.
Becoming a successful parent and an entrepreneur is struggling, as many times it can lead to stress, burnout, and reduced effort towards the business industry.
Balancing work and life is crucial for the progression and growth of the family and business.
Women all over India struggle to gain family support to kick-start their businesses or startups.
Often, women entrepreneurs are emotionally and financially discouraged by their families from pursuing their ambitions over responsibilities.
Emotional and financial support is crucial for anyone who is trying to excel in the business industry.
Without these two, women find it harder to navigate the complexities of the early stages of entrepreneurship.
Women entrepreneurs also face stereotyped attributes in the business industry.
Women entrepreneurs are often commonly found in businesses like beauty, fashion, or wellness.
This may be because people expect women to work in fields like these rather than in traditionally male-dominated fields like manufacturing and technology.
This might overshadow the integrity and diligence of a dedicated woman in a field dominated by men.
Women entrepreneurs frequently face unequal treatment in terms of lower pay, fewer promotions, limited leadership roles, lack of guidance, and many others.
The consistent practice of unequal ethics can often lead to discouragement in the pursuit of the role, resulting in resignation.
Unequal practices can also lead women not to choose their respective industries.
Becoming financially independent is a basic requirement for both men and women.
In our country, women follow the traditional custom of living off their spouse’s income, which often raises questions for personal use.
Meanwhile, women entrepreneurs also face similar situations when they want to start or expand their businesses.
Due to an early dependency on family members for financial decisions, women entrepreneurs may face delays in overcoming their struggles to become successful businesswomen.
Women-led businesses are constantly facing the integrity of the valuation, especially because they are managed by women.
Women entrepreneurs are constantly undervalued because of their age or level of ambition.
In the business world, women entrepreneurs who lack high-end networks frequently struggle more than businesswomen or businessmen who have a vast array of professional networks.
There is constant criticism directed at modern women, saying things like “You should be working in the kitchen instead of running businesses.”
Men and society at large have been known to make jokes about these trademark statements.
The absence of role models is a significant challenge faced by young women entrepreneurs in their respective fields.
A lack of role models often discourages female entrepreneurs, leading to a loss of confidence and motivation.
The lack of female role models in leadership roles also raises biases over the capabilities of women.
In the modern world, it is easy to connect with entrepreneurs all over the world.
Female entrepreneurs and workers frequently struggle with safety concerns as they are constantly subjected to multiple types of harassment.
The lack of authority to support females in the working industry has forced the victims to stay silent about the harassment, as many face threats from their respective abusers.
Fearing the consequences of unemployment and social backlash, many female entrepreneurs and workers undergo emotional trauma.
Wherever you look, whether it is healthcare, manufacturing, accounting, or others, women are easily trapped by abusers.
The lack of networking opportunities for women entrepreneurs often becomes an obstacle in their journey.
Finding mentors, building relationships, and accessing resources is quite challenging because of gender bias, an imbalance in work-life, and other responsibilities.
Gender bias and discrimination are some of the common challenges faced by businesswomen in various industries, especially male-dominated ones.
Gender biases arise in various circumstances, such as stereotypes about women’s abilities, low grades for women, workplace harassment, and many others.
These unforeseen circumstances directly affect the careers of women, leading to stress and anxiety.
The fear of being excluded from the industry often led them to cooperate with the situation.
This affects not only the career of the women but also the relevant company’s opportunities to expose the talents of women in the industry.
The complexities in legal and regulatory barriers often hinder the growth of businesswomen in various industries.
Legal issues include discriminatory policies against women, limited access to finances, and property challenges can be some of the many.
Battling these challenges often prevents them from participating in career-breaking opportunities, resulting in being stuck in one place with no career development due to multiple challenges.
These challenges can be improved by simplifying certain laws imposed against them.
In the male-dominant society, women do not get enough credits that they deserve.
This is one of the many reasons for the slow growth of women entrepreneurs in the past decades.
The habit of discrediting women’s work has led them to face struggles, making it hard for them to be taken seriously.
As a result, there is a reduction in the number of women in the workforce in various industries.
Financial literacy is crucial to strive for in the modern world, whether you are a man or woman.
In India, the majority of individuals do not support the idea of their daughter pursuing an education or being responsible for finance.
So many women grew up with zero knowledge of how to effectively handle their financial situation.
Due to a lack of financial literacy, they tend to struggle with managing finances. This eventually led them to miss out on several opportunities in various fields.
Moreover, even if they grab an opportunity, these women lack enough knowledge to recognise and capitalise on profitable opportunities.
Therefore, this can hinder the growth of women entrepreneurs significantly.
Resources such as funding, networking, education, technologies, and others are pivotal in a successful journey.
Lack of access to these resources can blind any entrepreneur. In the case of a woman, a lack of any of the basic resources for the development of her business can put her business greatly in danger.
Unlike men, women struggle to borrow and gather resources due to poorer networking contacts than men.
So challenges like these can be a burden to the success of women.
Our culture is notorious for making snap judgements about other people. The criticisms of women can become so baseless that the majority of them are not even accurate.
On the other hand, constantly being judged by society makes one doubt themselves and encourages them to avoid criticism. In order to avoid criticism, a large number of people—men and women alike—submit to the social patriarchy.
This fear of being judged grows over time and can manifest in various ways, including fear of failure, fear of criticism, fear of rejection, and fear of not being taken seriously.
Women become so fixated on this issue that they strive for success. Nevertheless, failure is a necessary part of success.
When they face failure, they lose self-esteem because of this fear, which causes stress and anxiety.
Thus, this challenge can put your career in danger if not addressed appropriately.
It can be difficult to thrive in the business sector if you do not understand modern technology, as most things are now digital.
Individuals can create personal and commercial brands on the internet using social media.
But too much exposure to it can lead to online harassment and cyberattacks.
The efficient use of computerised and marketing tools is critical for businesses.
Furthermore, everyone must keep up with the rapidly evolving technologies; failing to do so could impede their ability to advance in their careers.
It can be extremely difficult for people who are not tech-savvy to succeed in the business sector.
Social isolation can be a threat to your mental health and career.
Single women who are working remotely or in industries with limited networking opportunities can have a difficult time finding work-life balance.
Gender bias perspectives further make it difficult for women to participate in key business circles.
Moreover, running a business can be stressful, leading to burnout or decreasing confidence due to a lack of emotional support.
In the business world, there are no gender differences when it comes to competition.
However, there is a huge difference when it comes to benefits and challenges.
Women are compelled to struggle with numerous challenges, such as accessing capital, gender bias arguments, limited networking, support, and many others.
Women entrepreneurs find it struggling to achieve these when men can conveniently resolve any problem they face.
The absence of women leadership in policy-making bodies limits their ability to influence policies and regulations in their favour, which directly impacts lots of women-led businesses.
Several policies, such as tax implications, funding programs, and regulatory frameworks, are designed without considering the stance of a working woman.
Moreover, this pressing concern also leads to unequal distribution of resources and opportunities, where men are more favoured than women. Women struggle to scale their businesses without proper resources.
Addressing the challenges requires a multi-planned approach aimed at fostering a supportive environment for growth and success while balancing the work calamity.
The key efforts involve addressing the core problems and implementing the appropriate solutions to overcome the obstacle. The following are some of the key measures to address these pressing concerns.
Self-confidence is the root energy to deal with any challenges. Losing confidence can lead to self-doubt and emotional vulnerability, resulting in making impulsive decisions.
Engage in mentorship programs that focus on self-perception to improve confidence.
Advanced courses based on current technology and business principles, marketing, and providing robust training for relevant subjects can help women entrepreneurs improve their business knowledge and equip them with the necessary skills to navigate the business environment.
Explore various financial platforms like FinQuo Versity to enhance your financial knowledge.
Engage families and communities in discussion of the importance of women entrepreneurs.
Conduct community programs and educate society on the shared responsibilities and the need to become financially independent for everyone.
Encourage government and private financial institutions to generate women-centric financial schemes to support women entrepreneurs’ businesses.
Promoting specific grants and subsidies for women can reduce the financial barriers.
Organise campaigns challenging the stereotypic norms regarding women in business ventures in society.
Highlight the importance of women-led business enterprises and foster an optimistic perspective about women doing business in society.
Make equal work policies for men and women to promote gender equality in business.
Encourage hiring practices based on the skill to remove biases. Provide pay and benefits irrespective of gender and create flexible work policies for both genders regarding parental leave and work options.
Establish a zero-tolerance harassment policy with clear instructions and consequences.
Provide safe channels to address any harassment to a higher authority.
Offer support and counseling services and protection to encourage women to report harassment without fear.
In conclusion, the problems faced by women entrepreneurs in India are significant and pose a threat to their success in the competitive business world. Their problems range from gender inequality, work-life balance, societal expectations, lack of family support, financial struggles, and many others.
Above all, the lack of women in the policy-making bodies is one of the main reasons why other challenges continue to emerge even after so many years. Women’s leadership roles can bring changes to these challenges if addressed correctly.
Despite these obstacles, women entrepreneurs have managed to increase their presence in the business industry, contributing to societal and economic progress.
However, addressing these problems by conducting educational programs, promoting support campaigns, providing financial access, encouraging the implementation of equal policies, and protecting women from workplace harassment can help encourage women entrepreneurs to freely and confidently establish their skills and efforts for the business. These positive measures can help women showcase their excellence in business.
Hashim Manikfan
Hashim Manikfan is a professional financial content writer with extensive experience in creating engaging and informative articles on a wide range of financial topics. With academic background in Communication and Journalism, Hashim has published numerous articles aimed at educating readers on essential financial principles. His work covers areas such as financial markets, investment strategies, economic trends, and more. His writing style ensures complex topics are accessible and interesting, making financial literacy attainable for a broad audience.
