In India, because of culture & traditions, women are supposed to perform household activities & take care of family because of these reasons women entrepreneurship is very low. But due to the widespread education and social awareness during last three decades now women are showing interest in starting their own venture. Hence there is a considerable growth of women entrepreneurs. Now a day’s in Indian women are willing to accept challenges & take responsibility in economic, social, political group. Generally, women engage themselves in tiny or small cottage industries but recent study show women have been starting ventures in all the sector equivalent to male.

Women entrepreneurship is gaining importance in India in the current economic condition. It has been identified as an effective step toward poverty alleviation in the country. There exists a list of successful business women entrepreneurs both in social and economic fields in India. They are performing well and increasing presence of women in the business field as entrepreneurs has led to the change in the demographic characteristics of business and economic growth of the country. Women-owned businesses enterprises are playing a prominent role in society inspiring others and generating more employment opportunities in the country. However, to promote a balanced growth in the country, there is a need for sustainable growth of women entrepreneurs. What India needs is a well planned holistic approach where equal responsibility is taken by the society and government in fostering the growth of women entrepreneurs. Women empowerment is now widely recognized as a crucial step towards balanced development in any economy. It is very much needed for the sustainable development. Investments in women can bring tremendous change in the economic growth. Development of opportunities available to women is imperative for the equitable growth. It is in this context the concept of women entrepreneurship requires special attention. As per Government of India any business owned by a woman or group of women with atleast 51 percent of capital and gives minimum of 51 percent of employment to women can be called as a business owned by woman. There are many reasons behind the increased interest in promoting women entrepreneurship especially in a country like India.

Evolution is part of the growth process and survival of the fittest. Hence, it is all the more important that women be encouraged and supported to survive for the enhancement of all lives and not just their own.
• In the sixties, women took trivial steps to start small, one-woman enterprises at home and from home for self-occupation and engagement. They did not aspire to grow big and preferred to stay within the confines of their physical and psychological boundaries.

• The women in the seventies opened up new frontiers and developed not only aspirations but ambitions for self-employment and employment generation. These women wanted a home, marriage, children as well as a profession. They accepted the share of work and responsibilities for the success and growth of their enterprise. They wanted their voices to be heard as leaders to employees; and as managers of the enterprises to the entire business environment. However, all of them accepted both, their social and professional roles, maintaining a striking balance among the two.

I invented my life by taking for granted that everything I did not like would have and opposite, which I would like. -Coco Chanel, founder of Chanel.

• In the eighties, the number of women pursuing highly advanced, technological and professional education increased. They entered into family businesses as equally contributing and working partners. They made personal choices, stood up for their convictions and had the courage to make new beginnings. Much of society was hostile to them and sometimes they developed a sense of guilt for not playing the fitting traditional and conforming to the conventions of the society.
• The women of the nineties were capable, competent, confident and a package deal to be taken seriously. They were clear of their goals, processes and the dynamics of their end accomplishments. These women were fearless and had learnt to live alone, travel alone and raise children alone when a failure in marriage and life partnerships occurred. In most of the cases, they moved out, excelled and out-performed their male counterparts.

• The 21st century is the century of telecom, information technology and financial institutions. Women’s expertise in all these industries has made them emerge as a force to reckon with. Many of these industries are headed and guided by women as pioneers and mavericks. They have ventured to build enterprises, to discover their relevance and meaning of life in themselves. Women represent approximately half of the total population. Over the course of history, the demographics of the workforce have changed significantly. Women continue to advance, holding important roles and positions in both academia and industry. More and more women are stepping out of their comfort zones and emerging as leaders. Be it retail, technology, adventure, education or social enterprise, there has been a gradual rise in women entrepreneurs as power across various sectors every year.


Even though there were many studies which were concentrating on the role of women entrepreneurs in the country and also on the problems faced by them, less number of studies were undertaken to find out how to bring about and sustainable growth of women entrepreneurs especially in the Indian context.

Women are coming forth to the business arena with ideas to start innovative enterprises. The transition from being a traditional homemaker to a sophisticated businesswoman is not that easy. Many women feel strong about themselves to leave the formal job scenario and work independently, starting a business on a modest scale, making a profit and moving onwards from there. Today, women entrepreneurs may manage to garner essential external support- special funds, working capital loans; network groups- find them & use them well.
But the primary support needs to come from an understanding society. No area of society can be allowed to remain backwards if the country wants to prosper and society wants to progress.