India is catching up but the road is still long, say women leaders

When she took charge of the mobile accessories division of Syska Group, Jyotsna Uttamchandani was staring at a rather unusual challenge. “We are a sales and distribution-focused family business, driven by a sales staff of almost 4,000, and most employees on the field are men. To become acceptable to them was the first challenge,” the 30-year-old executive director at the Syska Group says.

She continues, “They were highly experienced professionals and older than me within the company, and probably had more knowledge about the Indian market, and I was meant to lead them.”

For most women chief executive officers (CEOs) in India, the real job begins after overcoming this one big additional hurdle — to be accepted as the leader.

At roughly 25 per cent, India is miles behind most countries when it comes to female workforce participation, and is among the worst in South Asia. “Unfortunately, the start-up ecosystem isn’t doing much better,” says Anuradha Gupta, founder and CEO, Vows for Eternity, a New York-headquartered premium global matchmaking service.

“Women represent only 14 per cent of entrepreneurs in India, and a majority of those start-ups are microenterprises and self-financed, which indicates that women entrepreneurs are not being equipped to reach their potential,” she says. “However, I would definitely say considerations are changing and there is still a lot that needs doing.”

The 48-year-old, who founded her business 10 years ago in 2012 with the objective of “offering a personalised, purely offline matchmaking service”, says India is catching up, but still needs to cover some distance. 

“I have stayed in Australia, the UK, the US, and India... In my view, the fastest growing emerging market in the world is not a country but its women,” she says. “We should give all the more access to women to contribute to the world economy... The US certainly leads in terms of women entrepreneurs, but India is catching up, which is wonderful to see. However, more help is needed to close this gender gap.  With the right infrastructure and support, India could be the strongest player on the world stage.” 

She adds, “I wanted to be the catalyst for others, and that is perhaps the reason I have never viewed it (entrepreneurship) differently on the basis of my gender. I feel economics has no gender and anything is achievable if one puts one’s mind to it.”

But success seldom comes easy, irrespective of whether one is setting up a business from scratch or taking over a family enterprise. “Being a social-entrepreneur has its own set of difficulties that need to be overcome,” says Neerja Birla, 51, the founder-chairperson of Aditya Birla Education Trust.

On whether women have a natural edge when it comes to showing empathy at work, Birla, who started Mpower “after encouragement from daughter Ananya Birla” — who is a co-founder — somewhat agrees. “Managing a business is critical, but one can do it with heart. A human touch definitely gives purpose, passion, and a roadmap to the business — one that actually makes a difference in society,” she says. Mpower was launched to create awareness about and address problems surrounding mental health.

PepsiCo’s former CEO Indra Nooyi, among several leading women business leaders from around the world, has often mentioned how she regretted not being able to take sufficient time off for family because of her work. She has recollected on several occasions how her mother told her that at home she was not a CEO, but a mother, a wife and a daughter-in-law. Like Nooyi, Birla, too, feels a woman has to wear too many hats, and that “balancing all sides isn’t always possible”.

“While they have their own aspirations and ambitions, women are still the glue that holds the family together... Believing that one needs to get the balance right is a slightly Utopian dream,” she says. “At different points in time, different roles require greater attention, and you often feel guilty when you have to focus more on one role and are unable to give enough time to the other.”

Things, though, are changing, she adds. “More and more men are taking up the responsibility of taking care of the children or helping with the household chores, while more and more women are starting business ventures or specialising as a professional, just like their partners,” she says, adding that “to make things more aspirational for women, the education system must undergo a complete overhaul”.  

Vows for Eternity’s Gupta believes a tectonic shift in society is needed to ensure more women become entrepreneurs. “The support that is extended to women by family members is the key,” she says. “Being raised with confidence and being encouraged to follow one’s dreams are essential, so that personal traits such as having the risk appetite for being an entrepreneur can take over.”

About the day

Women's Entrepreneurship Day is celebrated on November 19 to recognise the steady rise of women entrepreneurs owning profitable businesses from around the world. Started in 2014 by US-based author-entrepreneur Wendy Diamond, the day aims to promote a more conducive environment for businesswomen.