DMA

Education is a basic requirement and a fundamental right for the citizens of a free nation. Gender discrimination has been a major obstacle in granting equal opportunity for women in entrepreneurship. Empowerment is the manifestation of a redistribution of power that challenges patriarchal ideology, transforming the institutions that reinforce or perpetuate gender discrimination.

Professor (Mrs.) A. N. Mahajan along with a student Ms. Harman Dhaliwal (Roll No 13176) attended Conference on “Empowering the Nation through Women Entrepreneurship” on 21st February 2013 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi organized by Delhi Management Association (DMA) in collaboration with Indus Business Academy (IBA). The objective of this conference was to build up a bridge between women entrepreneurship and empowerment and to address the impedimentswhich act as road blocks towards successful women entrepreneurship.

A number of distinguished speakers like Dr. Ekta Saxena, Head Corporate Relations (IBA); Prof. Manas Garai, Faculty Incubation Centre, IBA; Manoj Mittal (General Manager, SIDBI); Mr. Arun Kumar Director General, NIESBUD; Mrs. Pankaj Bhaduria, Master Chef; Mrs. Bharti Taneja, Director, Alps Beauty Clinic; Dr. Anup Kalra CEO, Ayurved Research Centre; Dr. Vibha Dhawan, Executive Director, TERI; Ms. Shashi Singh, Chairperson, Consortium of Women Entrepreneurs of India; Mr. Niranjan Khatri, GM, ITC Hotels; Ms. Indrani Sharma Country Representatives, Women Changemakers India; Mr Raj Pathak, Director, NSIC – DPC ;Mr Vikas Balani, SIDBI;MrD.A.Sharma, Union Bank of India; Mr. Jagnnadham Thunuguntla, Head of Research, SMC Global Securities; Ms. Shakun Rai, CEO, Periot Life Sciences; Ms. Jaya Goyal, Chairperson, FSIA; Ms. Ester Martinez, Founder & Managing Editor , people Matters India Pvt Ltd; Ms. Alka Lamba, Chairperson, Go India foundation; Ms. Arpita Bansal M. D. Creative Nest Media Pvt Ltd; Ms. Meenal Arora, Founder Director, hemford Futuristic Schools; Ms. Ishita Swaroop, Founder , 99lables.com; Ms. Shalini Vig Wadhawa, Founder & CEO, 100 Degree Events & Entertainment shared their views on the present conditions of women in various fields particularly various challenges in rural areas they face as entrepreneurs.

The eminent speakers expressed that womanentrepreneurship is quite different from that of men as in many cases women entrepreneurs not only compete on the business arena but also on the social arena. They said many times women have to face discrimination and withstand the skepticism of the society. At times they need to put in more than required effort than their counterparts to prove their credibility to other.

The empowerment of women is one of the ideals which have been actively pursued in all countries of the world, with a sense of increasing urgency. In order to pursue this dream realistically, it is necessary to work for the removal of the obstacles posed by Gender Disparity. The socio-economic and political inequalities between women and men need to be understood and strategies need to be properly assessed and evolved to make the relationship equitable, just and fair to the fairer sex. Special emphasis needs to be given to Research and Development of appropriate scaled-down occupations engaging women in large proportions. Illiteracy and cultural barriers need to be removed without any further delay.

Women’s entrepreneurship is important for women’s position in society, and for economic development of a country. Though this useful conference the participants explored the economic, social and cultural obstacles to the creation and expansion of women-created enterprises at the local and national.