Woman of Today: Breaking Chains, Making Names

It’s 6:45 am, and Sandhya Dixit is busy keying in the day’s ‘to do list’ on her laptop. The 23-year-old Pune-based entrepreneur finds little breather from her busy schedule these days. But Sandhya isn’t complaining. Her graphic design agency ‘Crafted in Care’, which is just about a year old, has bagged quite a few small-to-medium category orders on International Women’s Day, mostly from mom-and-pop businesses and schools nearby.

A student of history, Sandhya understands the significance of International Women’s Day better than many others, having prevailed over prejudice, mockery, sexism, and that reflects in her work. Thankfully, things are changing.

According to a report published in the?Hindustan Times,?18% startups in India are led by at least one woman founder or co-founder.? While there is a lot of room for improvement, let’s not forget that we have come a long way from boardroom meetings involving just middle-aged men in suits. But it’s not only the industry’s top brasses that women are occupying; they are making their presence felt in every level of the corporate world.

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Breaking The Glass-ceiling in Traditional Companies

Challenging outdated norms and fostering an environment of equality in the workplace was a significant hurdle, even two decades ago. However, with the increasing awareness and prioritization of inclusion by organizations, barriers are gradually being dismantled in workspaces.

Let’s take Upasana Taku’s example. She and her husband jointly founded the 8000-crore fintech company Mobikwik in 2008. An engineering graduate from Punjab Technical University, Taku is currently one of the most prominent faces in the fintech industry. After years of struggle, their company started making profits in the third quarter of the fiscal 2022-23.

In the past, a less enlightened society may have erroneously ascribed the success of the business to her husband alone. Thankfully, that worldview is on its way out, and people are increasingly acknowledging the contribution of women leaders in the success of diverse business ventures.

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What we have seen over the years is that women, if not solely burdened with household duties and empowered with essential resources, have the potential to soar to great heights, regardless of their financial status.

Given the fact that people now have better access to amenities than ever before, balancing their home and work life have become less daunting.

For example, when someone lives in a gated community which has a few extra layers of security and comfort, it becomes easier for you to step out into the world without having to fear for their aged parents or little ones at home.

Under such circumstances, family obligations no longer seem as imposing as there are apparatuses in place to substitute their presence. That said, women are not holding themselves back, with or without support.

Parul Tamhankar, a widowed mother of two, works 12-hours a day delivering food all across Pune, Maharashtra, just so she can put her kids through school with full bellies. Although hesitant at first, she now proudly dons the tag of ‘tiffin didi’ in two gated communities close to her place.

What’s interesting is that Sandhya, who barely finds time to cook for her family amid her busy schedule, is one of Parul’s loyal customers.

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Women in Tech and Their Rise in Homepreneurship

While venturing into entry-level or low-wage positions has undoubtedly bolstered the financial independence of countless women, a report from ET Insights has unveiled a stark reality: women make up just 28% India's total STEM workforce.

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Although these figures may not inspire immediate excitement, the silver lining lies in the fact that numerous women have succeeded in establishing groundbreaking business ventures, carving out their own paths to success.

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We are all too familiar with the journey of Falguni Nayar, the founder of the e-commerce unicorn Nykaa. Likewise, no less impressive is?the story of Rajoshi Ghosh, founder of SaaS-based startup Hasura, which is now a billion-dollar tech company.

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Interestingly enough, some women are banking on the latest trend of?homepreneurship?to kick start their businesses. Trail blazers like Aishwariya Sivakumar, Sathya Ravi, Josephine Regina Ponmani, and many other?homepreneurs have recently received awards?for their stellar work in areas such as agriculture, and social Welfare.

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Challenges in Women-led Business Ventures

Despite the apparent acceptance of women’s choices and desires by society at large, several challenges remain that hold talented women back from leveraging their full potential.

Many families in Tier-II or Tier-III cities still carry a traditional mindset, which are often antithetical to women’s rights and styme their very natural desire to progress.

Even when there is support from family, securing funds for an entrepreneurial venture is another uphill task for many women.

As per a report in the Hindu Business Line,?women-led businesses face an unmet credit gap of more than $11.4 billion.?However, the hope is that with an increasing number of successful women entrepreneurs breaking the glass ceiling, it would build more investor confidence in women-led/women-owned ventures.?With time and concerted effort, one hopes that these inconveniences will be relegated to the pages of history.

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Ways to Create a Conducive Environment for Women in Business

Women with an entrepreneurial mindset may have been doing everything in their power to create space in male-dominated industries, but companies and the government, notably, have a role to play here as well.

For a start, it must be ensured that deserving women, when given a seat at the highest table of the corporate world, is not an ornamental change, but a decision of foresight.

Creating a workspace that’s safe for women is also of paramount importance. To that end, mandatory human resource (HR) training such as POSH and other sensitive lessons help form trust and respect among employees of all genders.

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The Journey Has Just Begun

In the end, one can pronounce that the journey to an equitable world has just begun. Even now,?the labour force participation rate for women in India is only 37%.?Juxtapose that with the less-than-enthusiastic statistics of women-led businesses and startups in India, it’s safe to say that we have a long way to go. That’s exactly why entrepreneurs like Sandhya are central to the overall struggle of Indian women in the business world. They act as inspirations for future generations of women to pursue a career in entrepreneurship.

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Tell us in the comment section what you think this International Women’s Day should mean to budding women entrepreneurs!