'Ecosystem needed for stronger participation of aspiring women

India warrants an ecosystem that guarantees far stronger participation of aspiring women entrepreneurs by removing hurdles in their path to business ventures, speakers said at a national event here on Thursday.

Gender sensitivity is essential to ensure inclusivity in heading or working with startups, according to speakers at the "Women Startup Summit" being hosted here by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM).

By largely slotting the country's women as homemakers, society continues to incapacitate the enterprising among them and contain them to household chores, experts said at the day-long event being organised in association with the Indian Women Network under the Confederation of Indian Industries.

Kerala IT Secretary M Sivasankar listed three major factors that were hindering prospects of women entering entrepreneurship in a big way in the state.

One is 'social barriers', where, say, 'safety' of girl students in hostels restricts their study hours in the campus.

Second is the increasing need for women with reasonable professional experience (of five to ten years) heading 'brown startups.'