Status and Scope of Women Entrepreneurship.

Abstract

Woman constitutes the family, which leads to society and Nation. Social and economic development of women is necessary for overall economic development of any society or a country and Entrepreneurship is the state of mind which every woman has in her but has not been capitalized in India in the way in which it should be. So women entrepreneur is a person who accepts challenging role to meet her personal needs and become economically independent. A strong desire to do something positive is an inbuilt quality of entrepreneurial women, who is capable of contributing values in both family and social life. They are involved in business activities at all levels, making important contributions to economic growth. While many women are succeeding in business, they are still constrained by the gender values, norms and stereotypes in the environment in which they operate. Because of their reproductive roles they tend to be responsible for business as well as for most of the unpaid work in the household. They have less time to devote to their work and they are less mobile. A key issue, therefore, is whether women entrepreneurs face specific problems in setting up in business that is different from those faced by male-owned businesses. The present article deals with the concept of women entrepreneur, reasons to become entrepreneurs, advantages of women entrepreneur, present status, impediments, measures to remove obstacles, steps taken by the Indian Government in term of five year plans, schemes for promotion & development of women entrepreneurship in India and some leading women entrepreneurs of India.