India’s Vision Of $3 Trillion Economy Needs More Women’s Share

Women are achieving milestones in every field today, they are looking after the household and also earning livelihood for their family. Historical facts cannot deny that women are the creatures who mostly suffered due to existing societal stereotypes. Women were treated as inferior as they were considered not capable enough to earn money. However, in the modern era, when women witnessed upliftment, their economic empowerment eventually made them socially inclusive. According to the data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Only about 14 per cent of Indian women own or run businesses, according to the Sixth Economic Census, conducted in 2014. More than 90 per cent of companies run by women are microenterprises, and about 79 per cent are self-financed.

The lesser number of women owning businesses in India indicates towards the void in policies and resources being provided to women. A report named ‘Moving The Needle: The Women Entrepreneurship Platform also raised the same issue and said, “According to the latest available estimates, of the 58.2 million micro, small, and medium enterprises operating in the country, only 14 per cent or 8.05 million are owned by women.”

Also, the report added that women-owned enterprises in India are largely limited to smaller-sized firms, with almost 98 per cent of businesses falling in the category of micro-enterprises.

While India is aiming to become one of the top three economies of the world, women’s participation also become significant, especially in the business space. Talking about the same, Radhika Shrivastava, Executive Director, of the Fortune Institute of International Business (FIIB), set the context by referring to numbers and said that India is the third largest entrepreneurial ecosystem in the world and out of 208 unicorns, five are clearly women-led, like MamaEarth, Nykaa, etc. 

Shrivastava also mentioned, that in 2019 among 58 million entrepreneurs in India, out of which women entrepreneurs are estimated to be around 8 million which accounts for 13 per cent of total strength while in 2014 it was only 8 per cent. In 2020, it is estimated that out of the total entrepreneurs in the country, about 20 per cent of women.

She added, “We've gone from 8 per cent to 14 per cent and finally to 20 per cent, We are climbing up. And we have to keep in mind that there is positive movement in the ecosystem.”

According to Shrivastava, Even if Indian businesswomen are emerging stronger in the space, one factor that is resisting is the parameter of defining a business entity or person. In regards to this, she said, “There are many women entrepreneurs that don't get captured in these metrics because they may be homemakers, home decorators or they may be running salons and boutiques. So they don't get counted in the formal system. And we have to acknowledge somewhere that they are also in the system.”

Representing an educational institution, Shrivastava emphasised that there is an educational imbalance which needs to be countered before entrepreneurship. She said, “We definitely need to make sure that our programmes help build critical skills for women. If you're looking for them to become entrepreneurs. We need to give them degrees in business, finance, marketing, overall management, and people relations.”

India is a hastily growing economy and continues to emerge as the most promising nation to countries across the world in terms of establishing a business, women account for 50 per cent of overall demography, they need to be contributing enough to be the top beneficiary of the development. 

The data of Niti Ayog also mentioned that India can add 18 per cent to its GDP (approximately USD 770 billion) if it can bridge its gender equality gap by improving female workforce participation in the country. It is high time for India to expedite women's participation in leading businesses across the country to accelerate the pace of growth.