CONSTRAINTS AND CHALLENGES FACED BY WOMEN...
Transcript of CONSTRAINTS AND CHALLENGES FACED BY WOMEN...
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CONSTRAINTS AND CHALLENGES FACED BY
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
INTRODUCTION:
A large number of women are entering into entrepreneurship in some form or
the other. The drive to pursue entrepreneurship is due to the immense passion and
certain compulsions. Entrepreneurs play an important role in the economic
development of a nation. Women’s skills, knowledge, talents, abilities and desire of to
do something for themselves and their children or family are some of the reasons for
the women to become entrepreneurs. According to World Bank, investing more in
women enterprises rather in men reduces the inequalities and poverty and thereafter
ensures the economic development of a nation. The government has also offered a
variety of programmes for women entrepreneurs in the recent past.
But, the challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs are growing
rapidly. In India, although women constitute the majority of the total population, but
the entrepreneurial world still seems a male dominated one, which exposes women
entrepreneurs to often face some major constraints in running their enterprise
successfully. Many women entrepreneurs are either housewives or illiterates or a fresh
graduate with no previous experience of running a business enterprise. As compared
with Western nations, Indian women have more inhibitions towards enterprising
(Ghosh and Roy, 1997). These features have made their job more difficult. With
changing time in globalized and competitive era, women entrepreneurs are now
confronted with many barriers which have often prevented them to develop their
enterprises. The problems and constraints experienced by women enterprise have thus
resulted in restricting and inhibited the expansion of women entrepreneurship.
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Attempt has been made in the following pages to scrutinize the relevant
literature focusing on the constraints and challenges faced by women entrepreneurs.
Are the constraints and challenges faced by women entrepreneurs confined to their
business competencies? Or it is Socio-economic barriers or market oriented risks or
motivational barriers or gender sensitive obstacles or lack of financial
assistance/resources or lack of training or knowledge or any other barrier which stands
as a big challenge for them in their entrepreneurial development?
There is little doubt that female entrepreneurship is affected by a complex blend
of micro-level and macro-level variables (Bruin et al., 2007).Lee-Gosselin and Grise
(1990) found that the most common start-up problems seem to be lack of capital.
Barwa (2003) found that women face additional handicaps due to the prevailing social
and cultural gender-based inequalities and biases. For instance, the barriers that
women entrepreneurs face are magnified in view of their limited access to formal
education, ownership of property, and social mobility. Other aspects include business
experiences, limited knowledge of marketing strategies, weak business associations,
lack of networking facilities, and poor access to education and training programmes.
In a study by Karim (2001) on women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, financial
problems was the most common to be faced by their women entrepreneurs, particularly
so in rural areas. Competition, procurement of quality raw materials, and balancing
time between the enterprise and the family were ranked as major start-up problems.
Hookimsing and Essoo (2003) identified four main obstacles faced by women
entrepreneurs - the hassle of getting permits, the lack of market, the ability to raise
capital and not being taken as seriously as men. A study by Soyeon Shim and Eastlick
(1998) identified 10 business problem areas: sales and profit forecasting; obtaining
lines of credit; capital management; working capital management; pricing strategies;
customer database management; short-term business planning; labour cost analysis;
managing debt; and gender problems. Many researchers feel that tension between
personal lives and career pursuits is the most significant problem that women
entrepreneurs face (Belcourt, et al, 1991, Lee-Gosseling & Grise, 1990, Neider,
1987). Neider (1987) found in a study on female entrepreneurs that tension between
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personal life and career was a major problem for these women. Malika Das (2001)
indicates that there may be both similarities and differences between the experiences
of women from the developing world and the developed world.
Winn (2004) inspects certain decision making factors and socio-personal
constraints for development of women entrepreneurship. He emphasises on
business/family interface for overcoming the barriers that women entrepreneurs face
as they pursue their careers. Jamali (2009) examines various constraints and
opportunities affecting women entrepreneurship and clearly illustrates the relevance
of micro- and macro-level factors in entrepreneurship to manage the complexity of the
women entrepreneurship in any particular context. Sarbapriya and Ishita (2011)
while discussing the status and problems faced by women entrepreneurs, emphasized
on significant differences between women entrepreneurs and the men entrepreneurs
on ground of perseverance, potentiality and ability to work hard, as well as the abilities
specific to emotional intelligence. Goyal and Parkash (2011) opine that despite the
promise of giving equal opportunity to the Indian women, the government sponsored
development activities have benefited only a limited section of women. The
beneficiaries have been mainly the urban middle class women. Lathwal (2011)
identifies the major problems of women entrepreneurs in Delhi. He concludes that a
majority of women belonged to business families and business environment helped
them to get prepared mentally. Kumbhar and Kumbhar (2011) also discuss several
problems faced by women entrepreneurs like start up finance, access to technology,
management and marketing skills and lack of confidence. The emphasis is been on
development of women enterprises through Self Help Groups. Behara and Niranjan
(2012) highlight the motivating and de-motivating factors of women entrepreneurship
in Indian context and also suggest the way of eradicating these hurdles. Kumari, S
(2012) while analysing different problems and challenges faced by women
entrepreneurship in India state that it’s high time for women to come out of the
drudgery of housework and express their creativity and entrepreneurship.
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Government has been making every effort, yet the breakthrough can be
achieved by giving equal opportunities to them at par with men. Kumbhar, V (2013)
discusses the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in rural India. Lack of balance
between family and career obligations, lack of freedom to take financial decisions,
absence of direct ownership of the property, lack of awareness of various operational
aspects and capacities, low ability to bear risk, dealing with male workers, being non-
familiar with financial institutions, lack of self-confidence, lack of professional
education, mobility constraints and lack of interactions with externalities are major
problems of women entrepreneurship development in India. Mehta and Mehta (2011)
emphasizes on creation of a favourable atmosphere to increase self-employment for
women. He further states there are bright prospects for rural women entrepreneurship
in India. Choudhary and Rayalwar (2011) have raised the issue of giving equal
opportunities to women entrepreneurs as men. He further states that Indian rural
market embeds unique opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
In context of the above literature, an attempt has been made to analyse various
constraints faced by the women entrepreneurs in Indore District in detail under two
heads-
A. Constraints in Starting an Enterprise.
B. Constraints in Running an Enterprise
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A. CONSTRAINTS IN STARTING AN ENTERPRISE:
The study elicited a number of problems which were faced by the women
entrepreneurs in the urban and semi-urban background. Although they hailed from
different backgrounds and family set-ups, but still the problems which they faced were
not very different from each other. One of the primary aims of the present study was
to understand how women entrepreneurs were able to start their enterprise. It
highlights various barriers and obstacles which these women entrepreneurs faced
while initiating their enterprises. This is illustrated in the Table: 7.1
Raising the Funds:
One of the important challenges which women entrepreneurs faced in the study
region was of raising the funds for the initiation of their venture. This problem was
more prominent among (87.06%) rural/semi-urban women entrepreneurs as they
lacked information relating to the banks and financial organizations who could help
them in the above said. They have to arrange for funds to start the business by
borrowing or taking loan. The savings which they have is often insufficient to start the
venture. This way they start raising their dependency on private moneylenders in
villages. On the contrary the females from Indore city were not very high in number
(28.24%). In their case, education played an important role in making the females
aware of the facilities provided by the banks and the government for their benefit. The
Banks and the financial institutions are active in the semi-urban area also but here the
women entrepreneurs are either ignorant or hesitant to approach them.
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*Multiple Responses
Figures in parenthesis indicates percentages
TABLE: 7.1
CONSTRAINTS IN STARTING AN ENTERPRISE
S.N. Constraints Urban Rural/ Semi-
Urban
Total
No. % No. % No. %
1. Raising Capital 48 28.24
(8)
74
87.06
(1)
122
47.84
(2)
2. Lack of awareness and
adequate knowledge
31 18.24
(12)
25 29.41
(10)
56 21.96
(10)
3. Lack of
Entrepreneurial skills
78 45.88
(1)
57
67.06
(2)
135 52.94
(1)
4. Lack of Computer
literacy
43 25.29
(9)
02 02.35
(13)
45 17.65
(12)
5. Lack of proper advice
and guidance
39 22.94
(10)
37 43.53
(8)
76 29.80
(9)
6. Lack of family support 63 37.06
(3)
32 37.65
(9)
95 37.26
(5)
7. Finding right Contacts
for support
50 29.41
(6)
44 51.76
(5)
94 36.86
(6)
8. Combining work with
family
67 39.41
(2)
47
55.29
(4)
114 44.71
(3)
9. Insecurity and lack of
self Confidence
57 33.53
(4)
49
57.65
(3)
106 41.57
(4)
10. Gender Biasness and
non-acceptance
49 28.82
(7)
39 45.88
(6)
88 34.51
(8)
11. Lack of adequate
premise
56 32.94
(5)
38 44.71
(7)
94 36.86
(7)
12. Others 32 18.82
(11)
21 24.71
(11)
53 20.78
(11)
13. No Obstacles 17 10.00
(13)
03 03.53
(12)
20 07.84
(13)
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Lack of Entrepreneurial skills:
With respect to possession of soft skills and managerial skills between rural
and urban entrepreneurs, data clearly elucidates that there exists a substantial
difference with respect to the above mentioned skills. The majority of women
entrepreneurs both in urban as well as semi-urban areas (52.94%) have lacked the
entrepreneurial skills relating to administration, marketing, accounts, public
relations etc. The proportion of such women is much higher amongst the rural/semi-
urban entrepreneurs (67.06%) as against their urban counterpart (45.88%).Women in
urban areas are marked ahead of their rural counterparts in this context. The possession
of soft skills as well as managerial skills has very strong linkages with the level of
education of the respondents. This is one of the prime factors which have given distinct
edge to the urban women entrepreneurs. The reason for this was the lack of education
amongst the semi-rural females in comparison to the urban women. The study also
disclosed that these females were not exposed to activities where they could have
gained confidence and become aware of the surroundings. More or less they were
pushed into the entrepreneurial work due to circumstantial needs.
This is very sad to note that majority of women entrepreneurs in rural areas
were not even sent to schools by their parents. This has come up as a big hindrance in
their capabilities of starting their enterprises. This in fact calls for bridging the gap by
virtue of imparting suitable training programs which inducts learning among them with
their comfort level.
Combining work with Family, Insecurity &Lack of Self-confidence:
One of the vital obstacles faced by the women entrepreneurs was combining
work with family (44.71%). As an individual the women entrepreneurs have some
personal constraints besides having business challenges. They face many such
obstacles which they have to overcome on their own. If any woman desires to start a
business venture she has to be confident of the risk which she will be taking in it. The
fear to bear the risk should be dominated by her passion to be an entrepreneur. A
woman entrepreneur should keep in mind that she has to bear the risk of loss, time
and her efforts. This is the obstacle which she needs to overcome all by herself.
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An important obstacle which was faced by the women entrepreneurs was
insecurity & lack of self-confidence that they will be able to do justice to their
venture and at the same time manage the family also with equal sincerity and
dedication. The majority of women entrepreneurs both in urban as well as semi-urban
areas have faced problems relating to insecurity & lack of self-confidence. The
proportion of women entrepreneurs with insecurity & lack of self-confidence
accounted to around 42%.The proportion of such women is much higher amongst the
rural/semi-urban entrepreneurs (57.65%) as against their urban counterpart
(33.53%).This insecurity was also because of insufficient support from the family and
gender issues which they faced at many places. In the semi-urban/ rural areas it was
predominantly seen that the females were responsible for all the household work
irrespective of the fact that they were into business.
Lack of Family Support:
Confidence to step out of the four walls of the house is an important aspect
which the women entrepreneur needs to possess. Her confidence level makes her to
start the business venture. A constant fear of failure in doing justice to their venture
and at the same time managing the family with equal sincerity and dedication often
puts tremendous pressure on women entrepreneurs thus affecting their efficiency and
zeal to perform. This insecurity is further aggregated because of insufficient support
from the family (37.26%) which they face at many places. The family support was
an important reason for many females to avoid stepping into the entrepreneurial
venture.
Gender Biasness and Non Acceptance:
Gender biasness (34.51%) has always been a big obstacle in the path of the
female entrepreneurship. There has been biasness in our society from years infinite
relating to the issues concerned with females. The women entrepreneurs till date are a
victim to Gender biasness. It may be the case of education, rights, property, business
or any other issue. The females are always ignored by the male dominating society.
People who have daughters do not prefer to include her in the family business thinking
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that she is incapable and secondly will be married to a third person. They prefer to
partner their sons in the family business even if he is not efficient enough to handle it.
They are often a victim of the male dominating society whenever they try to
prove their worth. Initiating a business enterprise is not whole heartedly accepted by
their male counterparts in most of the cases even in current era of advanced civilization
where our Constitution gives equal rights to women folk. If a lady in a family moves
out to do some business or any activity to support her family, this often becomes a
prestige issue among few castes in our country. Thus initiating a business enterprise
by a woman is a big challenge even in this twenty first century. This biasness in the
thought process is a big obstacle in her growth as a successful entrepreneur.
Lack of Awareness and Adequate Knowledge:
Lack of awareness and adequate knowledge of the work or the related activities
is another obstacle which is often faced by the women entrepreneurs in smooth
functioning of various activities in their venture. The proportion of such women
entrepreneurs accounts to around 22 per cent. They need to upgrade themselves from
time to time by attending training programs or workshops to enhance their knowledge.
Some women enter into the business with the help of a friend or a family member but
they themselves possess little knowledge of the work done. During study, we have
come across many women entrepreneurs who in fact had a very meager idea about the
enterprise before initiating it. This is one of the reason that lack of knowledge about
business operations often creates hurdles for them while running their enterprises later
on and they are not able to cope up with the day to day activities. Therefore, it becomes
important for them to have sufficient knowledge of the work which they are doing.
Finding Right Contacts for Support:
Finding the right contact was another important issue which was an important
constraint for the female entrepreneurs. (36.86%).The proportion of women facing
problem is much higher amongst the rural/semi-urban entrepreneurs (51.76%) as
against their urban counterpart (29.41%). The females of the rural/semi-urban area
were unaware of the contact persons who could help them in expanding their work.
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The urban women were comparatively better off in this regard. One of the most
prominent reasons which we found was the same as mentioned earlier that is education.
The women entrepreneurs from the urban area were exposed to the NGOs, business
houses and other organizations which were available to guide and help these women
with their ventures.
Lack of Proper Advice and Guidance:
Lack of proper guidance and advice (29.80%) to initiate and move ahead in
their entrepreneurial venture was seen more among rural/semi-urban females (43.53%)
in comparison to the urban ladies (22.94%). The higher illiteracy level among semi-
urban/ rural women and lack of interest and time among the urban entrepreneurs could
be the reasons for this. The females often felt reluctant or hesitant to approach people
for further direction and guidance. At times, they were also unaware about whom to
approach to seek right guidance. There are government institutions present both in the
urban and semi-urban/ rural regions who are ready to provide entrepreneurial
guidance. These females were not aware and at times were not confident of
approaching them.
Lack of Computer Literacy:
Computer literacy (17.65%) was also one of the important obstacles which
were faced by the women entrepreneurs of the urban area which they said could have
helped them in smooth functioning of various activities in their venture. The reason
for lack of computer education which the urban ladies gave was that they were
educated to start the venture but did not receive any technical training or education to
handle the computer comfortably. However, this problem was seen in a negligible
number among the rural/ semi-urban women entrepreneurs.
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Lack of Adequate Premise:
A substantial number of females 36.86% were those who faced an obstacle of
proper/adequate premises or space to initiate their business. They did not have
sufficient funds to hire the premises and at home there was no vacant space to start the
venture. There were activities which could be handled by them in the space available
at home once they were free from the household chores. On the other hand, females
staying in joint families were not able to arrange for vacant space due to the number
of members in the house. The amount of concentration and dedication which was
required for a particular work also could not be given in a large family. This problem
was more prevalent among rural/ semi-urban women entrepreneurs (44.71%).
There were hardly few women entrepreneurs in both the backgrounds who did
not face any obstacle while starting a venture. They had full support from their family,
no worry of funds and someone to guide and help them in establishing and growing
their entrepreneurial venture.
An attempt is made in the following pages to analyze the severity of various
constraints and problems faced by women entrepreneurs in Urban and Semi
urban/rural areas. Do Urban and Semi urban/rural women entrepreneurs face the
similar kind of constraints and problems? Do they differ significantly with respect to
various constrains faced by them in starting their enterprises? This will help us in
identifying the focal issues of development and designing the right kind of strategies
for development of women enterprises in urban and as well as in semi urban/ rural
context. For this purpose, many hypotheses are framed (Table: 7.2) to test whether the
major constraints faced by urban and semi urban/ rural entrepreneurs differ
significantly?
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In order to test these hypotheses, the weighted Arithmetic mean score of each
constraint and its standard deviation with respect to the opinion sought of urban as
well rural/semi-urban was calculated by using likert scale technique. The results of
these tests are illustrated in Table: 7.3
TABLE: 7.2
Hypotheses with respect to various constraints faced by women entrepreneurs
in stating their enterprises
Hypothesis
(H0)7.1:
Urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally confront with the
problem of raising capital for starting the enterprise.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.2:
There is no significant difference in Entrepreneurial Skills of Urban and
Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs in the district.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.3:
Urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally confront with the
problem of maintaining balance between work and family in the district.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.4:
Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally suffer from
the problem of Lack of family support while starting their enterprises.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.5:
Women entrepreneurs, both in urban and semi-urban/rural regions in Indore
district equally suffer from finding right Contacts for the venture.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.6:
Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally suffer from
Insecurity and lack of self Confidence in staring an enterprise
Hypothesis
(H0)7.7:
Women entrepreneurs, both in urban and semi-urban/rural regions in Indore
district equally suffer from adequate premises.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.8:
Urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally confront with the
problem of Gender biasness while starting their enterprises.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.9:
Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs suffer from lack of
information/ knowledge about business enterprises.
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The various entrepreneurial constraints faced by women entrepreneurs in urban
and rural/semi-urban areas have been highlighted in Table: 7.1. The information was
collected from the women entrepreneurs about the intensity of the problems on a 5
point scale from very satisfactory (5) to very severe (1). The mean scores were
calculated (Table: 9.3) for each problem faced by these women.
TABLE: 7.3
Test of Significance for difference between the means scores of various
constraints while starting their enterprises
S.
N.
Factors URBAN SEMI-URBAN Test of Significance
No. Mean S.D No. Mean S.D Z
Value
Result*
at α=5%
1. Raising Capital 48 3.24 0.76 74 1.74
0.32 12.94 (H0)7.1
Significant*
2. Lack of
Entrepreneurial
skills
78 2.21
0.25 57
1.85
0.22 8.86 (H0)7.2
Significant*
3. Combining
work with
family
67 1.95
0.24 47
2.01
0.21 1.42 (H0)7.3
Insignifican
t
4. Lack of family
support
63 2.24
0.53 32 2.66
0.43 4.15 (H0)7.4
Significant*
5. Finding right
Contacts for the
venture
50 2.57
0.48 44 2.23
0.29 4.21 (H0)7.5
Significant*
6. Insecurity and
lack of self
Confidence
57 2.36
0.57 49
1.96
0.19 4.99 (H0)7.6
Significant*
7. Lack of
adequate
premise
56 2.50
0.19 38 2.55
0.18 1.30 (H0)7.7
Insignifican
t
8. Gender
Biasness and
non-acceptance
49 2.29
0.13 39 2.48
0.11 7.42 (H0)7.8
Significant*
9. Lack of
awareness and
adequate
knowledge
31 2.87
0.25 25 2.77
0.24 1.52 (H0)7.9
Insignificant
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The problem of arranging finance to start the enterprise is more severe among
rural women (Mean Score 1.74) as compared to urban women entrepreneurs (Mean
Score 3.24). The rural women also lacked entrepreneurial skills (Mean Score 1.85) as
compared to urban women entrepreneurs with mean score 2.21. This was followed
with insecurity and lack of self Confidence among rural/semi-urban women
entrepreneurs (Mean Score 1.96), combining work with family (Mean Score 2.01),
finding right Contacts for the venture (Mean Score 2.23), gender biasness and non-
acceptance (Mean Score 2.48), lack of adequate premise (Mean Score 2.55), lack of
family support (Mean Score 2.66) and lack of awareness and adequate knowledge
(Mean Score 2.77) in that order.
On the other hand, women entrepreneurs in urban areas suffered the most when
it came to combining work with family (Mean Score 1.95), lack of entrepreneurial
skills (Mean Score 2.21), lack of family support (Mean Score 2.24) and gender
biasness and non-acceptance (Mean Score 2.29). This was followed with insecurity
and lack of self Confidence among urban women entrepreneurs (Mean Score 2.36),
lack of adequate premise (Mean Score 2.50), finding right Contacts for the venture
(Mean Score 2.57), and lack of awareness and adequate knowledge (Mean Score 2.87)
in that order. Urban women with mean score of 3.24 were much comfortable as
compared to their rural counterpart (Mean Score 1.74) in the study region.
Intensity of Retardation in Starting an Enterprise:
The results depict that of major constraints, raising capital, lack of
entrepreneurial skills, lack of family support, finding right Contacts for the venture,
Insecurity and lack of self Confidence and gender biasness are found significant. It
means that these constraints differ significantly among urban and rural women
entrepreneurs. In other words, the degree of retardation hits urban and rural women
entrepreneurs with varying intensity. The intensity of retardation among women
entrepreneurs at urban as well as rural/ semi urban areas has been illustrated in Table:
7.4. The intensity of retardation shows to what extend the initiation of entrepreneurial
venture by women entrepreneurs in the district is jammed by above mentioned factors,
which are proven to be significant.
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TABLE: 7.4
Intensity of Retardation among women Entrepreneurs
while starting their Enterprises
The study clearly illustrates that raising capital to start the enterprise is the
biggest challenge for rural women entrepreneurs. Scarcity of capital creates around
65% of intensity of retardation for initiating an enterprise in rural areas. With limited
avenues of income and employment creation, raising capital is a big challenge for rural
women in the district. This is followed with Lack of Entrepreneurial skills with
intensity of retardation equal to 63.00%, caused mainly by lack of education and
knowledge among rural women. Insecurity and lack of self Confidence is another
factor with intensity of retardation equal to around 61%, which is also a big challenge
for women entrepreneurs in the rural/ semi-urban areas of Indore district for
entrepreneurial development. Finding right contacts for starting the venture is another
troublesome factor, which often impedes the initiatives of rural women to start their
venture. It’s intensity of retardation among rural entrepreneurs stand at 48.60%.
Gender Biasness and Non acceptance is another worrying factor with intensity of
retardation equal to around 50% among rural women.
On the other hand, the degree of retardation differs among urban entrepreneurs.
Lack of Entrepreneurial skills and Lack of family support with respective intensity of
retardation being equal to 56% and 55%, pose a big challenge for urban women to
S.N Constrains found Significant URBAN RURAL
1. Raising Capital 35.20% 65.20%
2. Lack of Entrepreneurial skills 56.00% 63.00%
3. Lack of family support 55.20% 46,80%
4. Finding right Contacts for the venture 48.60% 55.40%
5. Insecurity and lack of self Confidence 52.80% 60.80%
6. Gender Biasness and Non acceptance 54.20% 50.40%
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initiate their enterprises. The majority of women entrepreneurs are not trained to
possess the entrepreneurial skills relating to administration, marketing, accounts,
public relations etc. Even in current era of advanced civilization where our
constitutions gives equal rights to women folks, initiating a business enterprise is not
whole heartedly accepted by their male counterparts in most of the cases. If a women
in a family, even in an urban environment moves out to indulge in any economic
activity, in many cases this is taken as an act against the prestige of the family. Thus
lack of support by spouse or other male family members in initiating a business
enterprise is a big challenge and obstacle in her efforts to take up entrepreneurship as
a career option. This is followed with gender biasness with intensity of retardation
equal to 54.00%, caused mainly by male dominating society. The insufficient support
from the family and gender issues often caused insecurity & lack of confidence
(52.80% of intensity of retardation) among women entrepreneurs to initiate their
enterprises.
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B. CONSTRAINTS IN RUNNING AN ENTERPRISE:
A number of obstacles or constraints arise before the women entrepreneur when
she steps in the competitive world. Facing them bravely and then starting her own
business is commendable on her part. As the business proceeds, she comes across
several other obstacles which slower her process of work and often demoralize her. It
is observed that women entrepreneurs not only face problems while initiating a venture
but continue to do so once they start functioning. There is a difference in the constraints
and the problems which they face before entering into a venture and the problems
which they face later.
The problems which the lady entrepreneurs face in staring their enterprises have
been discussed in Table: 7.1. The study tells us that crossing all hindrances and
obstacles the women entrepreneurs are able to start their business. A different set of
problems await them once they are running a venture. These women entrepreneurs
have to run and grow their business in a very competitive world which is mainly
dominated by male society, who since ages have been the main bread earners in the
family and thus are very experienced in their business pursuits. Thus the challenges
ahead of a woman entrepreneur in running and growing her business enterprises are
very distinct and difficult, in order to make a stand for herself in the business world.
Table: 7.5 help us to understand some of the hindrances which the females face while
running a venture.
Inadequate Finance and Working Capital:
The most important problem which any woman entrepreneur faces is the
arrangement of adequate finance. Around 59% of women entrepreneurs have
struggled in the district to arrange adequate finance to run their enterprises. The
scarcity of working capital is noticed more among rural/semi-urban women
entrepreneurs (84.71%) as compared to their urban counterpart (46.47%).
A woman takes a bold step to enter into the business world and then to face the
inadequacy of funds is very discouraging. Funding (Working Capital) has always been
an important hindrance in running the venture by women entrepreneurs. Once the
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females are able to start a venture after arranging the finances, the problem is not over.
They often have to face shortage of liquidity in their finances to cover the operational
costs. At times when the business receives a positive response and the demand rises,
the female entrepreneurs are not able to cater to the demand due to shortage of funds.
The women from the urban background are slightly better placed as they are aware of
the option of taking a loan from the Banks or other financial institutions. Whereas, the
semi-urban women are often hesitant to approach the banks for finances and often
depend upon their savings or borrowings. They often fail to make arrangement of
liquid money. By and large, be it an urban female or a women entrepreneur from semi
urban/ rural region, arranging finance is an important constraint which at times delays
the progress of their enterprises.
Lack of Administrative Skills:
Managing the household is much different from administering the business
activities. Around 36 per cent of women entrepreneurs in the district are reported to
lack the necessary administrative skills to run their enterprises. The proportion of such
entrepreneurs is much higher among rural/semi-urban women (44.71%) as compared
to urban women (31.18%).
The women entrepreneurs face many problems in managing the day to day
activities in the business place. They often come across difficult employees and
customers too. Handling the employees and getting the work done from them to the
maximum is not easy when these ladies have male employees working under them.
These women entrepreneurs are able to handle the tantrums of their difficult employees
with experience and patience. In the initial years of the business, it becomes important
for them to establish their venture and earn a name in the market. This requires timely
delivery of work with quality. Here, the administrative skills of the females come into
light.
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Table: 7.5
CONSTRAINTS IN RUNNING AN ENTERPRISE S.N. Main Obstacles in Running
an Enterprise
Urban Semi-Urban Total
No. % No. % No. %
1. Finance and Liquidity
79 46.47 72 84.71 151 59.22
2. Work-life balance and
Time management
50 29.41 36 42.35 86 33.73
3. Lack of Administrative
Skills
53 31.18 38 44.71 91 35.69
4. Lack of spouse/Family
support
52 30.59 32 37.65 84 32.94
5. Lack of training
opportunities
60 35.29 48 56.47 108 42.35
6. Dealing with male
counterparts ( Gender
issues)
59 34.71 41 48.24 100 39.22
7. Mental & Physical Stress
62 36.47 54 63.53 116 45.49
8. Tough competition
73 42.94 62 72.94 135 52.94
9. High cost of production
49 34.71 34 40.00 83 32.55
10. Procurement and refilling 43 25.29 30 35.29 74 29.02
11. Travelling and Mobility
problem
41 24.12 29 34.11 70 27.45
12. Marketing Problems 50 29.41 32 37.65 82 32.16
13. Lack of expertise &
decision making
57 33.53 40 47.06 97 38.04
14. Location of the enterprise
55 32.35 40 47.06 95 37.25
15. Transport bottlenecks
53 31.18 41 48.24 94 36.86
16. Pricing Problem
53 31.18 43 50.59 96 37.65
17. Lack of skilled workforce
47 27.65 31 36.47 78 30.59
18. High rate of interest
33 19.41 32 37.65 65 25.49
19. Day to day problems at
workplace
27 15.88 23 27.06 60 23.53
20. Constant fear of failure
45 26.47 32 37.65 77 30.20
21. Lack of awareness about
Government Schemes.
67 39.41 63 74.12 130 50.98
22. Others
33 19.41 16 18.26 49 19.22
23. No Obstacles
13 07.65 02 02.35 15 05.88
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Work-life Balance and Time Management:
Managing time between their family and the work is also another important
factor which becomes difficult for the women. Around 34% of women entrepreneurs
in the district are reported to struggle to maintain a work-life balance and manage time
to run their enterprises. In the initial months the venture requires more attention and
time of the entrepreneur. The women entrepreneurs have to make a stand in the market
and position themselves. This often requires late hours of working and concentration
at work. The women have to take care of their household responsibilities also and at
times find it difficult to make a choice. Some females are staying in joint families and
have to fulfill their duty towards the elders of the family also.
Work-life balance and Time management is of utmost importance for the
females who have to balance between their family and the work place. A woman
entrepreneur has to take care of her responsibilities as a mother, wife and daughter-in-
law also. At the same time she is the Boss at her work place. There are several
occasions where her physical presence is required at both the places. It becomes
difficult for her to prioritize between the situations. In most of the cases the
responsibilities towards the family are chosen and the work is affected. If she delays
any particular activity, the whole schedule of the day is disturbed which in turn affects
her performance in the business. She often utilizes her time on holidays and her visits
to the market become multipurpose. When the time is not managed, it affects her work
which requires supervision or personal care. This happens with almost all the women
entrepreneurs who are staying in a nuclear family or are a single parent. The children
have always been their responsibility which they have to take care even if they are at
work or are sick. The growing responsibility of the family, children and at times in-
laws is to be handled simultaneously with the rising demand of the work place.
Thus running an enterprise by a woman under the circumstances often becomes
a very challenging job. As the enterprise grows, it requires more time, money, efforts
in order to position itself better in the market. The women have to manage both the
places so that they can benefit in their work. Time management is therefore a big
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challenge for women entrepreneurs. Time constraint is to be handled carefully in order
to do justice to the business as well as the household responsibilities.
Lack of Spouse/Family support:
Around 33 per cent of women entrepreneurs in the district are reported to lack
the necessary spouse/ family support to run their enterprises. Spouse/family support is
of utmost importance for the women entrepreneurs in order to position them.
Balancing the business activities with the household responsibilities is only possible
for a woman entrepreneur with the family support.
If it is a nuclear family then the support of the spouse and the children is very
important. On the other hand the females belonging to a joint family look forward to
the support from their in-laws and other family members. A woman entrepreneur needs
to fulfill her family responsibilities in such a way that there is full support from the
members of the family. In the beginning of the venture, everything seems to be bright
and happening but as the time passes things change. With the passage of time the
venture starts demanding more time and dedication. It is this phase where the support
of the family/spouse is required. Most of the women entrepreneurs face a problem
from the family side when they are not very supportive. This does hinder the working
of the females and often have to compromise at the work front.
Lack of Training Opportunities:
Training in enterprise development not only makes women entrepreneurs
skillful but also provides them more opportunities to do better and expand their
enterprises. Training in the particular activity related to any entrepreneurial venture
helps the enterprise to grow in a smooth manner. It is a very unfortunate aspect to note
that around 56 per cent of rural/ semi-urban women and 35% of urban women in the
district have reported lack of training opportunities. The lack of training opportunities
is a severe setback for their entrepreneurial development in this region.
Lack of education and ignorance of the facilities offered by the government
affects the performance of the females. They are not able to give their 100 % in the
work due to lack of training. On top of it if activities require some strategic planning
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or expansion program, the untrained female entrepreneurs are not able to do justice to
their work.
The study assisted to identify that most of the ladies did not receive any formal
training for their business. A very few women entrepreneurs in urban areas have taken
some formal/informal training for their respective enterprises before or after the start
of business, however the proportion of such women in rural areas is almost negligible.
This is one of the prominent factors for lack of success among the enterprises run by
women in rural areas.
The women entrepreneurs in the study region seem to have learnt the intricacies
and the strategies with the hit and trial method. They are not reported to go to any
vocational schools or attend any workshops which could have helped them to perform
better. The reason which they gave was unawareness of such courses or no family/
external support for such training programs. They were of the view that if they had
gone through any training programs it would have certainly helped them to enhance
the output in the venture. Lack of awareness and complexity of multiple roles played
by such women entrepreneurs thus put them in difficult situation.
Dealing with Male Counterpart:
Dealing with the male counterpart during the various dealings whether it is
sales, purchase, marketing or any other business activity is not easy. As it is a man’s
world, the men find it difficult to accept a lady as their boss or accept the proposal
which she gives. The ladies here have to be perfect in their ideas and work so that they
do not face any non-acceptance from the males. At times even if they have better ideas
still they face rejection from their male counterparts for no valid reason at all. The men
could not accept the females to stand before them and compete. To our surprise, around
48 per cent of rural/ semi-urban women and 35% of urban women in the district have
often faced non-acceptance from their male counterparts.
According to these women entrepreneurs, the males were not ready to accept
the females to stand before them and work on similar lines. Business deals, material
supply, order for products etc. are all affected when it comes to a lady entrepreneur.
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They would often try to disrupt their working and create hindrances in their way. In
many cases, the lady entrepreneurs also faced non-acceptance from the domestic front.
Their family members specially the males of the family were not ready to digest the
fact that the ladies were earning and stepping out of the house.
Mental & Physical Stress:
It is observed during the study that mental and health stress was an issue of and
concern for women entrepreneurs in the study area. It is really disheartening to observe
that around 46 per cent of women entrepreneurs in the district often confront with the
problem of mental and physical fatigue & stress while running their enterprises. More
number of women have reported this problem in rural/semi-urban areas (63.53%) as
compared to urban counterpart (36.47%).
Health is such a thing which can affect the working of any person, be it a male
or a female. The women entrepreneurs who need to take care of dual responsibilities
of their business and the household are often affected with ill health. Their health is
very important for their business as well as the household. A woman when sick is not
able to do justice to her business and is often irritated for petty things. The business
suffers and so does the house. The entrepreneurial activities which require them to be
always on the move often result in fatigue and stress.
Physical stress in managing and coordinating with the day to day activities
often lowers the output and quality of these females. They not only face physical stress
but also go through mental pressure to maintain a balance in work and family life.
As the venture expands or is trying to position itself in the market, both mental and
physical stress increases. This at times makes the females feel low and the work starts
to suffer.
Women entrepreneurs have to play multiple roles as of an entrepreneur, a
mother, a daughter, a wife, a cook, etc. To play all these roles efficiently, they
experience a lot of strain and often undergo mental stress and physical trauma. The
majorities of respondents have reported high levels of stress and stress related illness
and maximum said that establishing balance between enterprise and home affairs was
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their main cause of stress. At the same time, some, especially the urban entrepreneurs
confessed that their own careless attitude and changing life style , many a times led
to this situation. The ventures in which they are to be seated for a lot of time caused
health issues due to lack of movement and exercise.
Tough Competition:
Competition is another important obstacle which is faced by the women
entrepreneurs. Around 73% of rural women entrepreneurs and 43% of urban women
have struggled to counter tough competition in the market. This competition can be
related to product/service price, availability, packaging, marketing tactics or upgraded
technology. The females who have just started the venture and their production are not
on a large scale, they are unable to compete on the price front. Cut-throat competition
with other group of men and established self-sufficient entrepreneurs is another
problem faced by women entrepreneurs. They do not have a proper organizational set-
up to pump in a lot of money for canvassing and advertisements. Thus they have to
face a stiff competition with the men entrepreneurs who easily involve in the
promotion and development area and carry out easy marketing of their products with
both the organized sector and their male counterparts. Such a competition ultimately
results in the insolvency of women entrepreneurs.
Tough competition, especially in urban areas in the industry with big brands is
another factor which often disrupts the working of the female entrepreneurs. The
competition which they face against their product or service is often from big brands
and even from the locals. This competition faced is related to advertisement, price,
packing, quality or brand. The competitor may also be into mass production and thus
enjoys economies to scale. This leads to low cost of production and thus lower price.
Not only can the price, the latest trends in marketing can also be adopted by the
competitors whom may not be possible for the women entrepreneur to afford.
Whatever may be the reason but this competition often does have a negative impact
on the smooth functioning of their business.
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High Cost of Production:
Around 33 per cent of women entrepreneurs in the district have faced the
problem of high cost of production while running their enterprises. Majority of the
women entrepreneurs engaged in tertiary sector in the district had small scale ventures.
Their capital, premises, raw material etc. were small in quantity. The output was
obviously small which gave rise to higher cost of production. The operating costs
on rent, electricity, labor could not be cut down. They were unable to curtail the
expenditure in order to lower the production cost. On the other hand, economies of
scale were also not possible due to many constraints. The limited means of financial
resources thus often led to higher cost of output. All these factors combined together
often retard the growth of their enterprises.
Travelling and Mobility Problems:
As the times are moving ahead at a fast pace the methods of business are also
changing. The females who are in the business venture need to move about in order to
crack better deals. Incapability to move becomes a hindrance for the females whether
it is related to transport or accessibility of the market. They are often dependent on
paid transport or their spouse to move around for the various deals of their business.
Such kind of obstacles often hinders the smooth working of the entrepreneurial
venture. Around 28 % of women entrepreneurs in the district, have faced the problem
of mobility and travelling while running their enterprises. Travelling for their business
is thus a big challenge for women entrepreneurs in the district. Travel for their
business, no matter even if it was for a day, leaving the business in reliable hands in
their absence was an important obstacle to them. At times the responsibilities towards
the family were a big hindrance to leave the station and go out for business deals. It
could be a business deal or replenishing the goods in their venture.
Procurement and Refilling:
Procurement and replenishing the goods is another important hindrance,
especially for women entrepreneurs of the district. Around 35% of rural/ semi-urban
women and 29% of urban women in the district have often faced the problem of
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procurement and refilling their stock. The women entrepreneurs who were into trading
of various goods had to move out to refill their items. This is in fact a tedious task for
women entrepreneurs to look for a vendor who would provide them with the material
at a reasonable price. To crack a deal with the suppliers where they had to procure the
raw material for their venture at the right place on a reasonable price, is not an easy
task. The females are often not comfortable and confident to talk to the men suppliers.
Taking the help of a broker/agent for the procurement of raw material is also not very
profitable at times. Many were getting the stuff through transportation but there were
few who brought it themselves. Therefore, the procurement and refilling stock at right
time is a big challenge for women entrepreneurs in the district.
Location of the Enterprise:
Approximately 37% of women entrepreneurs are reported to be unsatisfied
from the location of their enterprises. This problem is more prominent among rural
entrepreneurs (47.06%). In the study area also due to many impelling factors, majority
of women entrepreneurs are found engaging in their business operations from their
home premises.
The entrepreneurs often set up their enterprise where they can get the premises
on a cheaper cost so as to invest less in the infrastructure. The location of the working
place is reported as a big challenge for women entrepreneurs in the district. As
observed, some of the women entrepreneurs have put up their workplace in the out
skirts of the city/ hometown where they could get the premises on a cheaper cost. This
further leads to problems like safety of the female workers. During festival seasons,
the work demands more time input from all the employees. At this juncture safety of
the workplace matters. Working late hours and moving in bad weather condition
affects the business and efficiency of the female employees as well as the owner.
Under the circumstances, it is suggested to have location of the premises easily
approachable by the vendors, suppliers and employees. It should be well connected
with local transport so that anyone and everyone can reach there easily. Commutation
time should be always less so as to avoid fatigue to the employees.
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Marketing Constraints:
Another important factor which is connected to the location of the premises is
the marketing of the product/service. This is inter-related to the location of the
enterprise. If the working place or the production unit is far away in the outskirts of
the city, the woman entrepreneurs are definitely going to face marketing problems.
The delivery of the product to the customers, the meetings with the clients etc. all will
be not easy. Another side of the marketing problem of the women entrepreneurs is the
lack of knowledge of strategies which could ease to market the product. The questions
which women entrepreneurs are unable to handle are, Where to sell? Who to sell and
How to sell?? These questions often hinder the best of produce to be marketed.
As many as 32% of women entrepreneurs are found suffering from the problem
marketing of their product/service. Exploring new places and venues for sale of their
product was a difficult task for the women entrepreneurs. They were confined to their
own outlet and did not have much idea or time to look for better places which may be
profitable. Exhibitions and market areas during festivals and occasions often prove to
be beneficial for the business. Majority of women entrepreneurs in the district were
unable to explore such places.
Lack of Expertise &Decision Making:
Any business enterprise, how big or small it may be, its success and growth
depends on timely and appropriate decision making process involved in running it. It
is in fact discouraging to observe that around 47% of rural and 34% of urban women
entrepreneurs have failed to involve themselves in suitable decision making process
while running their enterprises. This clearly reflects that most of these women
entrepreneurs lack insight and therefore are not able to take appropriate and timely
business decisions. Lack of training programs and professional education becomes a
hindrance for them to be strategic in their decision making power and thus the business
often suffers. Although with time, experience and maturity, these females gradually
learn and are able to take suitable decisions but in the initial stages they are often not
very wise. This fear of failure often leads to doubt in their minds which leads to delay
in taking decisions. The fear and doubt arises from lack of education and training
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programs which they are often not able to undergo. The incomplete knowledge about
their venture creates doubts and this leads to slow decision making. This often gives
rise to failure and losses. It becomes like a vicious circle where the women folk start
becoming hesitant to take part in any business. This leads to their lack of confidence
and then hesitant of stepping in any business venture.
Transportation Bottlenecks:
The success of any business also depends on the efficiency of the transport
system available and used. Around 48% of rural/ semi-urban women and 31% of urban
women in the district have often faced the problem of adequate transportation services
available to them while running their enterprises.
The procurement of the raw material, machinery, delivery of finished goods or
samples, all need to be on time. The delay in any of this affects the goodwill and
reputation of the enterprise. The women entrepreneurs in the early stages of their
business are not able to afford faster means of transport. At times their goods are not
delivered on time due to the slow means of transport. This further affects their business
deals and activities. Thus the bottlenecks in the transport system used by women
entrepreneurs often put them in a disadvantageous position.
Pricing Problems:
Approximately 38% of women entrepreneurs in the district have struggled to
get the right price of their product in the market. This problem is more prominent
among rural entrepreneurs (50.59%) as compared to their urban counterpart (31.18%).
The smooth running of an enterprise often faces competition on the grounds of lower
price of the product introduced in the market by the competitors. In order to survive in
the industry and retain their position in the market, the women entrepreneurs are thus
forced to reduce the price of their products often at a loss. This forced reduction of
price and loss from the production front is a great setback to the business revenue.
Thus the low priced strategy adopted by women entrepreneurs further makes their
survival difficult in their business pursuits.
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Lack of Skilled Workforce:
Another important obstacle which the women entrepreneurs face is the lack of
skilled workers due to low remuneration paid by them to the employees. Around
30% of women entrepreneurs in the district have faced this problem. The enterprise
which requires skilled labor or workers need to pay a higher amount to retain them in
the enterprise. This becomes difficult for the ladies who have started their venture on
a small scale and have to pay more in order to take the services from the skilled
employees. The low remuneration fails to attract the expert and experienced
employees for work. The naïve and not so experienced workers are available on low
remuneration and they are not able to deliver quality work. This is proving to be a big
hindrance in the growth of their enterprises in the district.
High Rate of Interest:
Most of the women entrepreneurs have initiated their business after taking a
loan from the Banks or the financial institutions. They have to pay a large sum as
interest towards it. At times, paying a high rate of interest every month on the capital
taken becomes a block for the growth and overall running of the business. This
problem of high rate of interest is experienced by around 26% of women entrepreneurs
in the district. The problem of paying high rate of interest is more prominent among
rural/semi-urban women entrepreneurs (37.65%) in the district. Paying higher rate of
interest is really very painful for women entrepreneurs to manage when their revenue
generation is not very high.
Day to Day Problems at Workplace:
The working environment is also an important determinant for the employees
to perform better. No matter even if you pay a high remuneration but if the working
place lacks the basic amenities, the employees will not be happy working there. The
output of the workers is affected and their quality also deteriorates. In order to optimize
the output of the workers it is important of the women entrepreneurs to arrange for a
congenial and comfortable working place. This at times is not available and the output
suffers. Day to day problems at workplace, as reported by around 23% of women
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entrepreneurs during the study had often posed a big challenge to these women
entrepreneurs to run their enterprises smoothly.
Lack of Awareness about Government Schemes and their Rights:
It is really astonishing to observe that more than half of the women
entrepreneurs (50.98%) in the district have reported to be unaware about various
Government Schemes and their rights. The problem seems more severe among rural/
semi-urban women entrepreneurs (74.12%) as compared to urban entrepreneurs
(39.41%). This is really a setback for the institutional efforts to promote women
entrepreneurship for their socio-economic upliftment.
Lack of awareness, often leads to inadequate knowledge of the business being
done. When the women entrepreneurs are not very comfortable about the business
operations they are engaged into, they not only lack confidence but are also unaware
of the facilities which they can avail of. The government has introduced several
schemes for the women entrepreneurs but Lack of awareness has served as a hindrance
in availing benefits from all such schemes. Lack of awareness about their rights and
the facilities &benefits available for them, are few of the important obstacles which
these women entrepreneurs need to overcome as soon as possible. Realizing their
strengths and making use of it is the biggest challenge which the women entrepreneurs
need to face.
Fear of Failure:
Constant fear of failure (30.20%) in running an enterprise is another obstacle
which has often troubled women entrepreneurs. There is a tremendous pressure as
these women entrepreneurs enter into entrepreneurship against all odds. The survival
against all internal as well as external pressures becomes a very difficult proposition
and often develops a fear of failure among such women entrepreneurs.
It was really pleasing to find such women entrepreneurs (19.22%) during the
study that did not face any obstacle while running a venture. This could be because
they had full support from their family, no worry of funds and someone to guide and
help them in running and growing their entrepreneurial venture. Also they may be
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experienced enough to take some strategic decisions at right times while running their
enterprise.
An attempt is made in the following pages to have a comparative assessment of
variation in various constraints and problems faced by women entrepreneurs in Urban
and Semi urban/rural areas. This will help in assessing any significant difference, if it
exists, between Urban and Semi urban/rural women entrepreneurs with respect to
major constrains faced by them in running their enterprises. Do Urban and Semi
urban/rural women entrepreneurs face the similar kind of constraints and problems?
Do they differ significantly with respect to various constrains faced by them in running
their enterprises? This will help in designing the right kind of strategies for
development of women enterprises in urban and as well as in semi urban/ rural context.
For this purpose, the following hypotheses are framed (Table: 7.6) to test whether the
constraints and problems faced by urban and semi urban/ rural entrepreneurs differ
significantly?
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Table: 7.6
Hypotheses with respect to various constraints faced by women entrepreneurs
in running their enterprises
Hypothesis
(H0)7.10:
Urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally suffer from the
problem of working capital and shortage of liquidity for running the
enterprise.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.11:
Urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally face the Cut-
throat competition in running their enterprises.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.12:
Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally face
Mental& Physical Stress while running their enterprises.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.13:
Women entrepreneurs, both in urban and semi-urban/rural regions are not
exposed to adequate Training & development programs.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.14:
Women entrepreneurs, both in urban and semi-urban/rural regions faced
the problem of Gender biasness while running their enterprises.
Hypothesis
((H0)7.15:
Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs equally lack in
decision making skills while running their enterprises.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.16: Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs do not differ
significantly in possessing administrative skills for running business.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.17: Women entrepreneurs, both in urban and semi-urban/rural regions equally
enjoy the family support while running their enterprises.
Hypothesis
(H0)7.18: Both urban and Semi urban/ rural women entrepreneurs are equally aware
of various Government Schemes and their rights.
In order to test these hypotheses, the weighted Arithmetic mean score of each
constraint and its standard deviation with respect to the opinion sought of urban as
well rural/semi-urban women entrepreneurs were calculated by using likert scale
technique. The results of these tests are illustrated in Table: 7.7
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The various entrepreneurial constraints faced by women entrepreneurs while
running their enterprises in urban and rural/semi-urban areas have been highlighted in
Table: 7.5. The women entrepreneurs were asked to respond their opinion about
TABLE: 7.7
Test of Significance for difference between the means scores of various
constraints while running the enterprises
S. N. Factors URBAN RURAL/
SEMI-URBAN
Test of Significance
No. Mean S.D No. Mean S.D Z
Value
Result*
at α=5%
1. Finance and
Liquidity
79 2.21 0.23 72 1.65
0.27 13.65 (H0)7.10
Significant*
2. Cut-throat
competition
73 2.37
0.33 62
2.74
0.23 7.64 (H0)7.11
Significant*
3. Mental & Physical
Stress
62 2.45
0.12 54
2.49
0.17 1.44 (H0)7.12
Insignificant
4. Lack of Training
programs
60 2.57
0.27 48 2.49
0.18 1.84 (H0)7.13
Insignificant
5. Dealing with male
counterparts
(Gender issues)
59 2.37
0.31 41 2.59
0.21 4.23 (H0)7.14
Significant*
6. Lack of expertise
& decision
making
57 2.87
0.29 40
2.27
0.27 10.45 (H0)7.15
Significant*
7. Lack of
Administrative
Skills
53 2.32
0.42 38 2.21
0.19 1.68 (H0)7.16
Insignificant
8. Lack of
spouse/Family
support
52 2.57
0.48 32 2.98
0.42 4.11 (H0)7.17
Significant*
9. Lack of awareness
about Government
Schemes and their
rights
67 2.74
0.28 63 2.26 0.11 13.01 (H0)7.18
Significant*
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various constraints on a 5 point scale from very satisfactory (5) to very severe (1). The
mean scores are illustrated (Table: 7.7) for each problem faced by these women.
The problem of arranging finance to run the enterprise is more severe problem
among rural women (Mean Score 1.65) as compared to urban women entrepreneurs
(Mean Score 2.21). The rural women also lacked severely in administrative skills (
Mean Score 2.21) while running their enterprises as compared to urban women
entrepreneurs with mean score 2.32. This was followed with lack of awareness about
Government Schemes and their rights with mean score of 2.26 among rural women
entrepreneurs. Illiteracy among rural women must have contributed for this lack of
awareness. The other problems faced by rural women in running their enterprises
mainly include lack of expertise & decision making (Mean Score 2.27), mental&
physical Stress (Mean Score 2.49), lack of Training programs (Mean Score 2.49),
gender biasness while dealing with male counterparts (Mean Score 2.59), cut-throat
competition (Mean Score 2.59) and lack of family support (Mean Score 2.98)in that
order.
On the other hand, women entrepreneurs in urban areas suffered most severely
with the problem of arranging finance to run the enterprise (Mean Score 2.21),
followed with lack of entrepreneurial skills (Mean Score 2.32), Cut-throat competition
(Mean Score 2.37) and gender biasness and non-acceptance (Mean Score 2.37). This
was further followed with mental & physical Stress (Mean Score 2.45),lack of family
support (Mean Score 2.57), gender biasness while dealing with male counterparts
(Mean Score 2.57), lack of awareness about Government Schemes and their rights
(Mean Score 2.74) and lack of expertise & decision making (Mean Score 2.87) in that
order in the study region.
Intensity of Retardation in Running an Enterprise:
The results depicts that major constraints like Finance and Liquidity, Cut-throat
competition, lack of family support, gender biasness, lack of expertise & decision making
and lack of awareness about Government Schemes and their rights are found
significant. It means that these constraints differ significantly among urban and rural
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women entrepreneurs. In other words, the degree of retardation hits urban and rural
women entrepreneurs with varying intensity. The intensity of retardation while
running enterprises among women entrepreneurs at urban as well as rural/ semi urban
areas has been illustrated in Table: 7.8, which shows to what extend the following
factors creates hindrance while running the entrepreneurial venture by urban women
entrepreneurs in the district.
TABLE: 7.8
Intensity of Retardation among women Entrepreneurs
while running their Enterprises
The study clearly illustrates that finance and managing liquidity while running
an enterprise is the biggest challenge for rural women entrepreneurs in the district.
Lack of finance creates around 67% of intensity of retardation in rural areas (Table:
7.8). With limited opportunities of income creation, managing funds for running their
enterprises is a big challenge for rural women in the district. This is followed with lack
of awareness about Government Schemes and lack of expertise & decision making
with intensity of retardation equal to around 55% each. The lack of awareness about
various schemes of the Government and failure to take business decisions are mainly
caused by lack of education and disintegration of rural women with urban communities
S.N Constrains found Significant URBAN RURAL
1. Finance and Liquidity 55.80% 67.00%
2. Cut-throat competition 52.60% 45.20%
3. Dealing with male counterparts
(Gender issues)
52.60% 48,20%
4. Lack of expertise & decision making 42.60% 54.60%
5. Lack of spouse/Family support 48.60% 40.40%
6. Lack of awareness about Government
Schemes and their rights
45.20% 54.80%
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Women Entrepreneurship in Tertiary Sector in Indore District
for various social reasons. Biasness while dealing with male counterpart is another
disturbing factor with intensity of retardation at 48% among rural women, which often
obstructs the growth of their ventures.
While estimating the intensity of retardation in urban areas, it was noticed that
the women entrepreneurs severely face the liquidity crunch while running their
enterprises. Like rural entrepreneurs, managing finance is the biggest challenge for
these women entrepreneurs in the district. It creates around 56% of intensity of
retardation in urban areas. Cut-throat competition and dealing with male counterparts
with intensity of retardation being equal to 52.60% each pose a big challenge for urban
women for running their enterprises. The degree of retardation with regard to gender
issues is higher among urban women as compared to rural women. This could be due
to the reason that an urban woman quite often has to interact with male stakeholders,
many of them still don’t accept her as a business woman and at times give her a
nefarious treatment. This is where her problems begin as woman entrepreneur. The
lack of family support is another worrying problem among urban entrepreneurs with
intensity of retardation being equal to 48.60%. It is also disheartening to observe that
around 34% of urban women entrepreneurs have failed to take timely and adequate
decisions while running their enterprises. This is reflected in their intensity of
retardation which measured to 42.60%. This could be due to lack of training programs
and vocational education, which often create hindrance for them to take appropriate
business decisions. This leads to lack of their confidence which results into business
venture to suffer.
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CONCLUSION:
The study has helped us to understand the innumerable constraints which the
women entrepreneurs of our research area have faced. As we have mentioned above
they are broadly categorized in two parts. The problems while initiating the venture
and the problems while running a business. The women entrepreneurs of both the areas
faced the constraints of similar nature. The percentage was definitely different but the
nature of the problem was more or less the same.
The basic and foremost requirement of starting a venture is the raising of funds.
This has been the biggest hindrance for the semi-urban women to start their venture.
Similar was the case of possessing entrepreneurial skills where the urban women
entrepreneurs were much more comfortable as compared to their rural counterpart.
Illiteracy has been the main cause of the various constraints which the rural women
faced. Low confidence level and poor communication skills are some of the aspects
which need to be improved and polished in the rural women entrepreneurs. The rural
women were fortunate to enjoy family support as they basically hailed from joint and
large families.
The study elicited that there was similarity in the constraints faced by the
women entrepreneurs of both the areas while running a business. The problem of
finance being the foremost and competition being the second on the list. Cut-throat
competition in the urban market was seen at a higher level along with poor
family/spouse support. This was due to the reason of nuclear families and a wide range
of products and substitutes available in Indore region. The rural women entrepreneurs
faced the issue of expertise and decision making. They were not exposed to any kind
of technical training program, neither were aware of the government schemes which
would have helped them in their venture. It is important to create awareness amongst
the rural women about the training programs run by the government. They also need
to be guided and advised at regular intervals for the smooth functioning of their
enterprise.
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