Addressing Key Challenges in Women Entrepreneurship in Uttarakhand

Women entrepreneurs play an important role in local economies and a large percentage of micro-enterprises in developing countries are undertaken by women. The emergence of entrepreneurs in a society depends to a great extent on the economic, social, religious, cultural and psychological factors prevailing in the society. When an enterprise is established and controlled by a woman, it not only boosts economic growth but also has many desirable outcomes. Women in Uttarakhand are the backbone of the State's economy. However, women do not own the land on which they are working nor do they have the power to make decisions in major economic matters concerning property, sale and investment. Nor do the land yield so much production or income that it gives women the much-needed cash and decision-making power to look after their needs and those of the children. Despite being the heads of these households, women still cannot overcome the patriarchal divide. This lack of cash income and the gap between work and economic gain hence need to be bridged by entrepreneurship among women. So, there is a need to raise the status and standard of women in Uttarakhand. This paper throws light on those issues which restrict women's entrepreneurship in Uttarakhand and tries to find out the gaps in the development of entrepreneurship among women so that appropriate policies can be made for them.