On 19 November, the world celebrated the 10th Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, an annual effort to bring to the fore the issues faced by women business leaders. In the last official economic census a decade ago, just 14% of all establishments in India were led by women. The share is estimated to have improved since then to over 20%, but the likes of Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Vandana Luthra and Falguni Nayar remain rare examples in an arena flooded with male leaders. On the bright side, a report released last month pointed out that women-led businesses tend to have more women-friendly policies and fewer workplace barriers. Can India make the world of business more welcoming for its women? Here’s the data.
Beyond the stars
Running a business is risky but more women are making a mark in the country on multiple levels: the recent success of Nykaa, the first Indian unicorn headed by a woman, is one such example. However, a lot of women-led entrepreneurial activities are also taking place in rural India. Of all women-led establishments, 65% were located in rural areas. Southern states have a larger share of women entrepreneurs. Nearly 80% of women entrepreneurs are self-financed in the country, the last economic census found.
Changing dynamics
The situation, however, is improving, and a remarkable shift is expected by the end of the decade. By 2030, the share of women entrepreneurs could reach up to 33%, according to a 2019 report by Bain & Company and Google. There has been a tremendous rise in women-led startups already, and startups, in general, have proven to be more women-friendly at top levels than traditional firms.
Women lift women
In a recent survey of startup leaders, male and female founders were equally likely to perceive an intense work environment as a workplace barrier for women. However, the perceptions differed when it came to mobility, attrition, and care work, with women founders being more sensitive to such issues. Women-led startups are introducing more policies to address these matters.
Money matters
Due to these reasons, women-led businesses will be crucial to lift India’s female labour force participation. The Bain & Company report projects that women-owned enterprises have the potential to create over 50-60 million direct jobs by 2030. But there’s still a long way to go for India to make the entrepreneurial environment more friendly for women. The country ranked 57th among 65 countries in a Mastercard index on women entrepreneurs in 2021. Closing the funding skew against women founders will be key in the coming years.
$21.9 billion: The estimated funding received by women-led startups in India in 2022, just 18% of the total. However, this has grown from 11% in 2017.
