Promoting women entrepreneurship through women entrepreneurs association of Tamil Nadu (WEAT).

Abstract

There has been a transition in the economic context of developing countries which have taken up the neoliberal policies and open up the economy. India has a protectionist trade policy but now adapted to the policy of globalization, liberalization and privatization relaxing the rigid policies to the utmost flexibility since 1991. The National Policy of Empowerment of Women 2001 in India, based on the Beijing International Conference women, presented that the women who are the most neglected section to get the distribution of development benefits need to be encouraged to have equality in education, employment, participation in decision making including political participation. Entrepreneurship is one area where the women can directly be involved in decision making and able to realise the flexi hours which is the long waited demand for women in economic participation. Policies to promote women entrepreneurship has been many and several intervention by the State to motivate the women to start enterprises has yielded a very limited results. Women still face the problems of balancing home and career, failure of family support to start the enterprises, finance, access to formal credit, market, gender bias in socialization etc constrain them to be equally participate in the field of entrepreneurship. Lack of self confidence and poor information, lack of awareness about the opportunities and above all, lack of role models and lack of networking organizations to encourage the women, have failed to facilitate and motivate the aspiring women to become entrepreneurs. Those who started remained confined to self employment or micro scale businesses, not aiming high. With the research conducted on the pattern of entrepreneurship in the Indian Context, it was realised that there is a tremendous potential and cope for women to enter entrepreneurship but there is hardly any guidance to bring the women together to facilitate and guide them to start enterprises. Women Entrepreneurs Association of Tamil Nadu (WEAT) created based on an Academic Research has been helping the women to become their own boss in Tamil Nadu, India. This paper discusses in detail the origin, growth and performance of WEAT in creating women entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu, India.