India ranks 52nd (unchanged from the previous year) amongst 57 countries studied, significantly behind the United States (4th) and China (29th).
The index focuses on female entrepreneurs’ ability to capitalize on opportunities granted through various supporting conditions within their local environments.
The results suggest that the underlying conditions for women business ownership/entrepreneurship in India are less favorable as compared to the countries with high index score. According to the report, the Indian women business owners, leaders or professionals exhibit less inclination towards business ownership due to cultural bias. They are also less likely to grow their business, whether locally or overseas, and are more prone than other regions to discontinue their businesses due to unprofitability or lack of finance.
The progress of women entrepreneurs was held back by one or more obstacles in nearly all of the 57 economies covered. These obstacles are largely caused by perceptions of gender bias, which contribute to poor social and cultural acceptance, lack of self-belief and access to financial funding or venture capital. Below is India’s performance on three components used for developing the index –
- Women’s Advancement Outcomes
India ranks 52nd with respect to Women’s Advancement Outcomes, i.e., degree of bias against women as workforce participants, political and business leaders, as well as the financial strength and entrepreneurial inclination of women, far behind the United States 8th and China 27th
- Knowledge Assets and Financial Assets
India ranks 55th in terms of Knowledge Assets & Financial Access for women entrepreneurs. On the other hand, China (10th), and the United States of America (16th) provide much higher degree of access to basic financial services, advanced knowledge assets to women, and better support the small and medium enterprises
- Supporting Entrepreneurial Conditions
India ranks 47th when it comes to Supporting Entrepreneurial Conditions, not far behind China (41st). However, the United States (11th) scores significantly over the two when it comes to overall perceptions on the ease of conducting business locally, quality of local governance, women’s perception of safety levels and cultural perception of women’s household financial influence.
