Page 1 of 7
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at
http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 11
October 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 360
Rural women entrepreneurship:
Opportunity & Challenges
Mr. Amritpal Singh Randhawa
Assistant Professor( Management) Desh Bhagat Foundation Group Of Institutions Moga
Abstract
Women entrepreneurship has a vital role in industrial development. India has been considered
as the land of entrepreneurs. The general perception of the Indian society towards the women is
that people consider them as home makers. When we talk of women entrepreneurship the topic
gets neglected due to the stereo typed mentality but this scenario is changing in modern India
women are also taking part in entrepreneurial activities, now we are talking about gender
equality which is irrelevant without economic independence, because these two go hand in hand.
Though the activities carried out in entrepreneurship are similar for men and women both but
the challenges and hurdles a women face are way more different from that of men the situation
get worst when we consider rural women entrepreneur. This study is an attempt to highlight such
challenges which are faced by rural women entrepreneur in particular in their way to
entrepreneurship. This research will also discuss the area of opportunities for rural women
entrepreneurship.
You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women”
- Jawaharlal Nehru
Introduction
Whenever the topic for discussion comes up
regarding the status of women in India the
images that comes in the mind are of
discrimination, illiteracy and exploitation at
the same time, however there is another
reality which has been steadily emerging
particularly in last decade and that is related
to women entrepreneurship. In a male
dominating society it is a tough row to hoe
for a women entrepreneur to make her own
way. But with the passage of time the tables
have turned slowly and gradually women
have increased their share in economic
activities. In present scenario it is believed
that, there is no tool for development more
effective than the empowerment of women.
In relation to the above context here is a
famous saying “Women are the largest
untapped reservoir of talent in the world”-
Hilary Clinton
The survey shows that women constitute
only 13.76% of the total entrepreneurs, i.e.,
8.05 million out of the 58.5 million
entrepreneurs. These establishments in total,
owned by females, provide employment to
13.45 million people
Meaning
According to Entrepreneurs Council of
India (ECI) Starter - Driver - Accountable
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Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at
http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 11
October 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 361
and Responsible Yes, An entrepreneur is an
initiator, a challenger and a driver. Someone
that creates something new, an initiative, a
business or a company. The entrepreneur
might not be the ideator, but they are
definitely the one that decides to make that
idea a reality. The entrepreneur is the person
in charge, the leader and the person to look
to for leadership. They are the one that
pushes forward and inspires a team to
follow.
National Knowledge Commission (NKC)
defines Entrepreneurship as follows:
‘Entrepreneurship is the professional
application of knowledge, skills and
competencies and/or of monetizing a new
idea, by an individual or a set of people by
launching an enterprise de novo or
diversifying from an existing one (distinct
from seeking self employment as in a
profession or trade), thus to pursue growth
while generating wealth, employment and
social good’
From above discussion we can infer that, the
entrepreneur is the one who navigates, and is
capable to change direction, push forward,
slow down or even stop a venture. The
prime responsibility lies with the
entrepreneur to take its venture to the
ultimate destiny, which can either be, a
project, a company or any other aim. The
entrepreneur is the stakeholder with the
highest stakes at the venture, thus he is the
person who is to be empowered to take the
crucial decision in pursuit of his
entrepreneurial journey.
Current Scenario
According to the MasterCard index of women entrepreneurs India scored an overall 41.7 points,
ranking 49 among 54 economies globally with comparatively low in women business ownership
percentage. The index uses 12 indicators and 25 sub-indicators in 54 economies across Asia
Pacific, Middle East and Africa, North America, Latin America and Europe, representing 78.6
percent of the world's female labour force.
.
Page 3 of 7
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at
http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 11
October 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 362
According to 6th economic survey of India.:
The survey shows that women constitute
only 13.76% of the total entrepreneurs, i.e.,
8.05 million out of the 58.5 million
entrepreneurs.
These establishments in total, owned by
females, provide employment to 13.45
million people.
Another revelation is that out of these
entrepreneurs, 2.76 million women (34.3%
of the total entrepreneurs) work in
agriculture sector whereas 5.29 million
females (65.7% of the total entrepreneurs)
work in non-agricultural sectors.
Among the non-agricultural activities owned
by women entrepreneurs, manufacturing and
retail trade are dominant ones with
corresponding percentages being 29.8% and
17.8% respectively.
Out of the total establishments under
women entrepreneurs, percentage share of
various social and religious groups OBC:
40.60%, SC: 12.18%, ST: 6.97% and
Others (40.25%); Hindus: 65.6%, Muslim:
12.84% and Christian: 5.2%.
Among the states, the largest share in
number of establishments under women
entrepreneurship is of Tamil Nadu (13.51%)
followed by Kerala (11.35%), Andhra
Pradesh (10.56%), West Bengal (10.33%)
and Maharashtra (8.25%).
Average employment per establishment for
women owned establishments is 1.67
From the above discussion we can
recapitulate that though there has been an
improvement in the situation but still the
true potential of women contribution
towards economic activity is somewhat
untapped.
Challenges Faced By Rural Women
Enterpreneurs
1. Problem of Finance: Finance is
regarded as life line for any venture,
it is prerequisite for any entrepreneur
however for women in rural India it
is a hard knock to raise finance as in
rural India females are more or less
are financially dependent. Their
access to external sources of finance
is limited as generally they don’t
have properties in their name and
even bank also consider them less
credible for the purpose of loan
thus,due to lack of financial
resources they are more or less
dependent on their own savings.
2. Social pressure: The general
perception of the society in large
towards the women in India is of
house maker,if we talk about
entrepreneurship in particular a
women faces a lot of resistance from
the society, a women in Indian
society is considered as the pride of
the family or clan so, a women
working till late night, interacting
with opposite gender is looked upon
as a taboo.
3. Family responsibilities: The
primary responsibility to maintain
the home lies with the woman man
role is limited in this; she has to take
care of children as well if there is a
joint family task gets more tedious,
her total dedication towards the
