a-4. male & female entrepreneurs-1
TRANSCRIPT
Male VS Female Male VS Female entrepreneursentrepreneurs
Male VS Female Male VS Female entrepreneursentrepreneurs
A COMPARISONA COMPARISON
Prof. Amie Moulik
Male VS Female Entrepreneurship
The Discussion Today
• Some facts about men & women• Gender Issues• The Purpose of the study• Personality of a Woman
Male VS Female Entrepreneurship
• History• Self Employment of Women• Women Entrepreneurs• Professional Women: Problems• How can the problems be
overcome• Conclusion
Some Facts
• Women Constitute not only half of the World’s population but also sway the growth of the remaining half.
• They produce half of the world’s food supply.
• They account for60% of the workforce.• Comprise only 10% of the world economy.• Own less than 1% of the real estate
Gender Issues
A Focus on Gender Issues means looking at both women & men, while recognizing that it is women who suffer from gender inequality & discrimination. - Dr. Usha Sharma
Gender Issues
The importance of gender concerns to successful project and program implementation, and to promoting social welfare and economic efficiency as well as in addressing social, economic & political inequalities is widely acknowledged
The Purpose of our study
• To find out- whether women can contribute significantly
towards the national economy.- do they have equal potential?- if so, why are there fewer women
entrepreneurs today?- what are their difficulties?- how can we address them?
Definition of a Woman
“ Woman is an unfinished man left standing at a lower step in the scale of development. The male is by superior and female inferior. Thus one is the ruler & the other ruled. A woman is weak of will & therefore incapable of independence of character & position.”
- Greek Philosophers
It is observed that-
“ Women have great Talent, but no genius for they always remain subjective”
- Schopenhauer in The World as Will & Idea
Male VS Female Entrepreneurship
On the threshold of a new millennium, the status of Women is still to be elevated to that of Man.
History
In a patriarchal society like that of India, the exploitation and subjugation of women is commonplace.
History
In sharp contrast, the secondary status of women was unacceptable to Sikh and other progressive philosophies.
History
Sikh scriptures categorically state that man & woman together make society a composite and well balanced whole. The two are complementary to each other & should not be viewed as a threat to one another.
History
Guru Amardas created twenty two administrative units called manjis or parishes . Of these four were headed by women, which was unheard of in those times.
They enjoyed full economic & decision making powers.
Self Employment of Women & the New
Economic Policy
In view of the declining job
opportunities, the challenge before the Indian economy is to create conducive environment for self-employment and entrepreneurial talent among individuals to work in increasingly productive & remunerative sectors of the economy.
Personality differences between Men &
Women A Survey
We found that women were equally achievement oriented, aggressive, independent, benevolent, risk takers, self confident, hard working etc as their male counterparts.
Male VS Female Entrepreneurs – A
Comparison
“Women Entrepreneurs as research demonstrates may do things differently. As compared to male entrepreneurs,
• women tend to work more in teams, • are less self-centered & • personal ego to them is less important than success of the organization or business
idea they are pursuing.”
Male VS Female Entrepreneurs – A Comparison
However, there is no difference in characteristics such as achievements, autonomy, aggression, independence & benevolence between female & male entrepreneurs.
- Hirsh & Brush, 1984
Male VS Female Entrepreneurs – A
Comparison
Also, no differences were found in
risk taking propensity of male & female Entrepreneurs. However, we do need to talk explicitly about women entrepreneurs.
Male VS Female Entrepreneurs – A
Comparison
It is a known fact that personal characteristics as well as social aspects clearly play some role in developing entrepreneurship but Entrepreneurs can also be developed through conscious action.
Professional Women: Problems & Perceptions
When one tries to explore the root cause of the underachievement of women as professionals, one finds that reasons are actually different from the commonly attributed “lack of commitment and competence” on part of women professionals.
Professional Women: Problems & Perceptions
The underlying reasons are more related to
• The social reality of Indian women which imposes certain socio-cultural role-models & stereotypes leading to a conditioning of people’s psyche.
Kids VS Customers
Balancing home & Work: “ It is tough, but not impossible. It is important for women to realize that she needs to contribute something not just to the family, but also to oneself.
A supportive family definitely does a great deal of good to your career.”
- Lata Krishnan
Major Barriers for Women Entrepreneurs from different
cultures
based on Susan Johnson’s table published in Small Enterprise Journal, Sept 1999. ( A study in Austria )
BarriersLevel
BarriersIndividual Household/
FamilyBusiness Community/
Government
Financial Women look for security
Men decide about expenses
Less income, less property – no security – no loan
Some countries, signature of husband required for loan
Economical Women get less education
Women lack support for household work
Lack of management know-how
Women discriminated in terms of access to economic resources
Socio-Cultural IndependentThinking is not allowed to women
Violence against women
Husband must not be neglected
Limited mobility – problems with the marketing, transportation & selling of goods
In male dominated industries, women entrepreneurs are not accepted
Barriers Level
Barriers
Individual Household/Family
Business
Community/Government
Political-Legal
Women act privately, not politically
Women have got less influence and negotiation power in the family
Less means to exert power/less protection by the state for women Entrepreneurs
Lack of knowledge
about women Entrepreneurs, in order to be able to
develop appropriate policies
Psychological-Philosophical
Low self-esteem, does not dare to demand rights
Women are divided
Women are afraid to be more successful than men/husbands
State views men as the ones who publicly represent the family
Barriers
The clear result was that the strongest barriers are the psychological barrier on the “individual” level and socio cultural barriers on the “household/family” level.( especially lack of support of husband)
How can the problem be overcome?
The general observation is that there are fewer female entrepreneurs than male entrepreneurs. This reflects the trends also prevailing in other spheres of economic activities where males greatly outnumber females.
How can the problem be overcome?
Entrepreneurship is a Herculean task, which is fraught with struggle, entailing both risk & efforts. While women have to go through the same stages of setting up an enterprise as do men, and face similar challenges, irrespective of gender based social impediments like social stigma, unfavorable infrastructure, support systems, etc. which block their entry and reduce their pace of growth.
How can the problem be overcome?
Removing these impediments in the existing set up of micro enterprise development has assumed a critical significance for the economic development of women. The need today is to help women overcome these blockades and draw maximum participation from them to set up micro enterprises, which will help them. Achieve self reliance and place them at par with their male counterparts.
Women in Micro Enterprise Development (MED)
• Develop Gender Sensitivity• Examine the processes of Gender
inequality• Understand the processes of
promoting MED through active participation of women
• Acquire skills of identification of potential women entrepreneurs
Conclusion• Empowerment is not only an external
process, but a process that has to bring about these intrinsic changes in women but in men also.
• When women get organized and raise their consciousness about their disempowerment and use their critical understanding to organize themselves and struggle for greater access to resources, there are very few problems from the men.
Conclusion
• There is a raising consciousness in both men and women and the discrimination bias can be shattered only if we bring a change in our social customs which make the birth of a female child unwelcome, since she is considered a financial & social burden.
Conclusion
Therefore, there is nothing more to say than..
“ Let us all continue to give a new shape to the society and build a better tomorrow”
THANK YOU