Women Entrepreneurship Day: We Need to Encourage More Women to Enter the Entrepreneurship Space

Women Entrepreneurship Day is being celebrated on 19 November 2022, and several women have shared their thoughts on encouraging women leaders

Entrepreneurship is something that is within everyone’s reach irrespective of their gender. In fact, women can be better entrepreneurs if the point that they are born multitaskers is taken into account. Apart from increasing the cultural diversity of the organisation, women also bring in fresh perspectives and a novel way of viewing things within a company. Priyanka Chaudhary Raina, Co-Founder, maate says that Women entrepreneurship offers a viable pathway to create jobs and fuel India's economic development.

“It is known to have a multiplier effect by leading a translational impact on the lives of future generations in terms of conscious reproductive choices, better access to education and high-quality healthcare facilities. However, only 20% of enterprises are women-led, which speaks volumes about the state of women's entrepreneurship in the country. Gendered stereotypes of women as the primary household makers, lack of proper funding avenues and weak institutional support mechanisms are the primary impediments for women to take up entrepreneurship. The need of the hour is to create an enabling ecosystem to give wings to the dreams of aspiring women entrepreneurs. Access to customised financial products for women, strengthening capacity building through mentoring and business opportunities and fostering a culture of celebrating role models in the field will go a long way in mainstreaming women's entrepreneurship in India,” stated Raina.

Ridhhi Sanghi, Director and Head, People Success, TurboHire is of the view that women entrepreneurs form the backbone of the country. “Women entrepreneurs have long been the backbone of our country, well before entrepreneurship became a catchy word. Women have run small businesses in agriculture, catering, clothing and animal husbandry across the length and breadth of India, and yet, so many of their contributions have been erased. Women have all the talent and grit that anyone could ask for - what they’ve been lacking for a long time is a start. On this Women Entrepreneurship Day, we’d like to appreciate all the women founders out there who have worked through obstacles to make an impact. We’d also like to cheer on the entrepreneurs-in-training, those who are currently either nursing ideas or testing them out - we see you, and we see your talent. And we know you can make it,” she said.

That said, while a certain push is still needed to encourage women, things have certainly improved for women in current times. “We are witnessing a long-overdue wave of female entrepreneurial power rising to the top. Manufacturing and logistics is a male-dominated space. On Women Entrepreneurship Day, we want to appreciate all the female founders out there and urge more women to enter the entrepreneurship space. Whether they’re building a logistics platform, a campaign management tool or a water filtration device, their ideas matter and their voice matters.”

However, the most important learning to take forward from witnessing women entrepreneurs today is that one mustn’t attach gender to careers. “For far too long, women have been told that careers in tech and business are not for them. We’d like to appreciate our fellow female entrepreneurs today and encourage young girls and women with big dreams to pursue them. Good technology has no gender - the next great idea can come from anywhere. After centuries in the shadows, we’re proud and happy to see the number of female executives and business leaders take centre stage and deliver solutions that are getting the attention they deserve.”