Multiplier Effect Of Wellbeing Of Women Entrepreneurs
The 21st century has enabled more women to come to the forefront, and it is an important time for us to address the multiplier effect of the well-being of female entrepreneurs who are running or investing in a business. According to statistics, up to a third of all firms operating in the formal economy today are owned and operated by women.
The majority of businesses in developing and emerging economies, however, are relatively small and micro companies, with little to no potential for development, in addition to being underrepresented in businesses of all sizes, the likelihood that a woman will lead a larger company decreases.
Creating better opportunities for women entrepreneurs is very vital and important because the environment wherein a female entrepreneur has to survive has its share of obstacles that she needs to battle. One of the best ways we can advance equality and encourage inclusivity and sustainable economic growth is to invest in women-run businesses which is truly the need of the hour.
Since women typically spend more of their income on their families' and communities' welfare than men, they also have to typically provide food and for their children’s education, and a well-educated child ultimately is beneficial for our future economy. Investments in women-specific programmes can have a large positive impact on development. While focused and specific actions can close the gender gap, it is equally important to eliminate any discriminatory elements from social and economic laws, programmes, and practices that might limit women's full involvement in the economy and the society.
The current social climate is not very conducive to women, as there are many discriminatory laws in place that make the journey of women entrepreneurs twice as difficult from a man. Removing obstacles including discriminatory customary rules, discriminatory property and inheritance laws, and most importantly limited access to financial institutions, and time restraints brought on by family and home duties does not create an equal playing field for men and women.
According to the recent data, about 70 per cent of women have limited access to financial aids or institutions thus their basic rights to financial access are nullified to a large extent.
Housekeeping and childbearing, and competing household news makes women more susceptible to spending, combined with sex, marriage, reproductive health and other social constraints make female entrepreneurs play an integral role in determining the success of female business women. Without addressing the typical family and cultural constraints that continue to pose as an obstacle for women in developing countries, addressing the hard skill gap can only go so far. It is important to have successful female business owners as role models, as they may be able to have a bigger impact on their surroundings by using their success to support their families and local communities.
Women's success now depends on creating a supportive and conducive atmosphere for female entrepreneurs. Helping women manage their numerous responsibilities and incorporating men, families, and communities (where appropriate) in women's entrepreneurship are part of this ecosystem.
In conclusion, given that many women lack confidence and belief in their entrepreneurial ability as imprinted by the society onto them this makes skill-based training insufficient. One solution is to combine services, such as combining business training with financial education, giving women entrepreneurs access to appropriate loans and networks through networking and strategic alliances can be a step forward in the right direction.
The holistic development of women entrepreneurs and the onus of their progress also depends on the people around the women, their friends and family. So let’s make it a point that the ecosystem in which female entrepreneurs work is not biased and they have equal opportunities as their counterparts.
