Despite successful start-ups like Delhivery, Snapdeal, Zomato and Paytm, Delhi still lacks a strong populace of women entrepreneurs compared to Bengaluru. According to a report by consulting firm Athena Infonomics Research, women in Delhi are shying away from entrepreneurship due to patriarchal mindsets, rigid families, gender discrimination when managing finance and most importantly, safety concerns in the NCR. Based on a women entrepreneurial ecosystem index, Bengaluru and Delhi scored 62 and 47 out of 100 respectively.
When it comes to Delhi and its suburbs Noida and Gurgaon, around 45% of the women cited family consent as a major reason behind this low score. This is quite crucial when starting a business, working late and being a part of social and networking events. The entire picture gets affected even more due to safety reasons in context to working in the evening hours as well as the mobility.
66% of the women said that their responsibilities towards their families hindered them while expanding their businesses. They also faced considerable discrimination by clients and customers as well.
What separates Bengaluru from Delhi is the support system. The former has always had a strong entrepreneurship setup with networking systems and venture capitals. Delhi has lesser support and women entrepreneurs are often seen as someone who is fulfilling her hobby rather a full-time profession. This can be seen in the report which shows that 7% of enterprises in Bengaluru have a workforce of over a 100 employees compared to Delhi’s 1%.
Once again, this report shows how gender-biased the country is and why women entrepreneurs should be encouraged more to strive for success. Hopefully, over time this trend will change with more women sprouting up successful businesses without being obstructed by societal rules.
