Sheprenures: Bridging Empowerment and Entrepreneurship

“Making life easier for women entrepreneurs is to support women’s empowerment.”
Today, there is an opportunity to accelerate the progress towards gender equality. Moments like #MeToo have highlighted an unacceptable status quo and demonstrated how too many women in the world continue to be deprived of respect and equal opportunities.
As per an independent report, there has been a little progress towards greater equality. Where, on the one side, the maternal mortality rates have dropped by over 50 percent. On the other hand, we can’t deny the fact that an equal number of girls and boys are now enrolled in primary school education in recent years. But, the overall progress remains too slow. Things need to speed up.
Everyone is well aware of the fact that setting up a business is a key means for women to empower themselves and break out of deplorable financial conditions. But just as becoming an employee is harder for women, so is becoming an entrepreneur. Well, the good news is that despite all the constraints, the number of women entrepreneurs has been increasing day-by-day, also they have been particularly successful. At a global level, about 126 million women are running their own businesses and whereas in India, about 8 million women have started their own businesses. This has been possible for every woman through the gender-responsive funds, programs to support SMEs, and strong advocacy to ensure women’s entrepreneurship is prioritized in national policy making.
Women are seen as leading active members but also holding strong portfolios in the public and private sectors. As gender equality has risen over the years, this would make a huge contribution to achieving sustainable development and reducing the poverty in India.
Going ahead, supporting women’s empowerment will definitely help to eliminate gender inequality, protect fundamental human rights, and bring considerable economic benefits. As India wants to build a successful country to develop a gender-responsive entrepreneurial ecosystem; we can only hope that soon it will be seen as the most entrepreneurial country in the world about achieving equality and give women the support and opportunities they deserve.
Let’s build on this momentum for change, as women entrepreneurs have a key role to play.