When the question of women's entrepreneurship arises many intersecting factors come into play. These are personal, social and economic. Coming down to the basics, the following points/qualities make for success in the field.
An enterprising attitude?
A desire to show the path to the team and find solutions?
Ability and trust in oneself to take decisions?
A confidence in oneself to rise after every failure?
The ability to explore and consider the journey of entrepreneurship with the passion of an adventurer?
The courage of self -belief and self- dignity to plod on even when everyone around believes “ it can't be done “ An ability to accept applause and believe it was her ability and not a favour/gift from the family or society?
The faith in one's capability to handle power and money?
Important questions that we as a society /parents/teachers need to ask ourselves are Do we measure the worth of the drive and passion to work in terms of a higher value of contribution or do we boil it down to financial outcome only?
Do we instill the right values and belief system in our Girls, so that some of them may choose entrepreneurship as a way of life?
The influence of the Mother
The position of the Mother in the
family is one of the critical influencers of the girl child. There are families
where the mother has a minor or passive role in the family affairs. Most of the
decisions are taken by the men and the mother is a quiet and in some ways
helpless observer whose opinions and views are considered irrelevant. In some
of the families, the mother's role is limited to bringing the child into the world
and then feeding and nurturing the baby. Her rights on the child are limited
and she has little role in the important decisions regarding the child like,
choosing the name of the child, or which school the child is admitted into or
in what direction are the skills and talents of the child to move, or what the
career of the child should be and later, when the child has grown up, who the
marriage partner will be. The women in many cases is confined to the affairs of
the kitchen and minor family politics.
More than the education of the mother, it is her personal belief system, which
are absorbed and manifested by the child, and in particular the girl child. If
the mother believes that the daughter is talented, capable and an asset to the
family, her belief in her child will translate into reality. If, on the other
hand she believes her daughter is a liability and a responsibility, then that
particular subconscious message shall be embedded in her daughter and in
challenging times she will crack under pressure because her core is weak.
If the daughter watches her mother mostly as a shadow in the house with no real
rights, opinions or respect within the family, the daughter shall believe it to
be „The reality of womenfolk”. This perception shall guide her decision making
skills throughout her life as this becomes “her Truth “ also.
Evidence indicates that strong capable mother are more likely to have capable
daughters.
The family as a moral and emotional anchor help greatly in the development of
entrepreneurship in women and the support can be of the spouse or the mother. In
most cases an unmarried daughter requires the mother as a support to facilitate
the process of entrepreneurship. In cases of married women, it is again the
mother who provides the support to her daughter to take care of the children,
so that the women can work at her business.
Educational Background and Influence
Education can be of different
types, one is the basic education which helps women to read and write and
understand basic maths. There are enough examples in society to show that
formal education is not mandatory for women to venture into entrepreneurship. However,
education begins to play a vital role if women need outside or bank funding or
she needs to develop her business. For entrepreneurship the basic ingredient remains the aptitude and willingness
to venture into a business.
While reading and writing skills play an important role in
making a women confident enough to start and run her business and also deal
with monetary and small legal paperwork connected to her business, its absence
is not a real deterrent, because many women start their businesses despite not being
literate and along the way they enlist the support of someone in the family to
help out with the details requiring literacy. However beyond a level, highly
qualified women may not venture into business as they already may be able to
earn their financial freedom from an appropriate employment and hence the rough
and tumble of the business enterprise may lose its charm.
