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India needs to strengthen the women’s business sector by not only providing financial support but also promoting these businesses on a national level, said HP Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, Satin Creditcare Network in an interview with BW Businessworld. Edited Excerpts:
What according to you is the current status of the employment gap between men and women?
We live in a society with strong patriarchal roots. The employment gap and salary disparity between men and women in our society has been prevalent for decades now. In our society, men are still more likely to receive a promotion. Additionally, the pay gap has decreased in the past few years, but women still get paid less than men despite having the same experience and skill set. Although it is being recognised and changes are being made, we still have a long way to go.
Tell us about the state of women-led emerging businesses in India
Women in our country are working hard to not only provide for their families but also to build a sustainable future for themselves. Brimming with talent and ideas, they are breaking the barriers of society and paving a new path for future female entrepreneurs.
However, in order to build these businesses, they are also faced with issues regarding capital and acceptance. Obtaining a loan becomes difficult for many of them since they do not have collateral to secure the loan against. Therefore we are highly focused on empowering these women with a no-collateral microcredit system.
Closing the employment gap can expand India’s GDP by close to a third by 2050. Do you agree with the statement? If yes, how?
We are in complete agreement with the analysis by Bloomberg Economics that stated that the employment gap can expand India’s GDP by close to a third by 2050. Employment plays a major role in advancing a country’s GDP and GEGI is a tool that was created to measure this development in the long run.
We believe that supporting these women, whose ideas and hard work are easily neglected by society and equipping them with the tools to help them analyse the needs of the community and curate insightfully designed products can help transform the lives of one community at a time while alleviating poverty from within the society.
In today’s world, women are not only pursuing higher education and creating history through innovation and genius, but they are also fighting the stigma against women’s employment. Recognizing and empowering these women will only lead to the development of our nation.
How ignoring the major gap can affect Indian economic growth?
The economic growth of a nation is highly dependent on its working-class population. The Women of our nation are working hard to pursue higher education and to change the dynamics of employment within our nation.
With the increasing global demands and demands within our nations, there is a gap to be filled for the services and goods provided. In order to meet this increasing demand, it is essential to appoint people with the right skill set who can train and manage businesses, production, sales, and distribution.
Leaving out women from the labour demographics can be a major loss for our nation in the long run and can hinder our economic growth.
Though women in India represent 48 per cent of the population, they contribute only around 17 per cent of GDP compared to 40 per cent in China. Why is that?
There are many factors that contribute to the GDP of a nation. The low rate of women’s employment in our nation is one of the contributing factors to this. The employment gap between men and women in our nation, although recognised, continues to be a major issue.
Men are more likely to be promoted to executive levels despite having the same skill set as their female co-workers. Additionally, our society is still adjusting to the idea of women’s employment and continues to expect women to be more dedicated to their families by managing the house instead of providing financial support.
Women in rural areas are still prone to early marriages and experience a lack of access to education, which limits their ability to provide for themselves and their families in a financial setting.
All these factors are only going to widen the employment gap, which will result in a decreased GDP. However, if we focus on empowering women and creating access to education and job opportunities that do not have an underline bias in pay and promotion, it can significantly increase the GDP of our nation in the coming years.
Do you think Indian women are not getting a chance to actively participate in India’s growth story?
I find it difficult to answer this question with a simple yes or no because of its complexity. I believe that the employment gap in our country is owing to a lot of factors.
The pay gap and gender-biased promotions are disrespectful to the hard-working women in our society. Across almost all industries, women face some form of discrimination.
Their growth is hindered owing to the patriarchal mindset of society, which limits their opportunities to actively participate in India’s growth stories. However, the women in our nation are also fierce, experienced, and talented.
In almost every sector, women have challenged the stereotypes and fought through the barriers to create incredible results and success in businesses.
They also have worked hard to innovate solutions that can solve the problems our country and the world are currently facing. Because of the discrimination, these women have cultivated a strong passion to pave a new path for other women while moving forward to help our nation progress.
What are the major entrepreneurial loan options that females can avail?
There are a few entrepreneurial loan options available for women. The four major categories include small business loans, commercial business loans, loans against securities, and personal loans.
The Indian government has also introduced various loan schemes for women like the Mudra loan scheme for women, Dena Shakti Scheme, Bharatiya Mahila Bank Business Loan, and Udyogini scheme, to name a few.
Are there any challenges that woman entrepreneurs can face while securing various loan schemes?
Securing financial backing is very important for any business. Women-led businesses are highly motivated within our country to promote employment and business development opportunities for women.
However, availing of a loan is a lengthy process and women face a lot of hurdles as they go through this process. Lack of knowledge is one of the biggest hurdles.
Additionally, many loans are available against collateral, and we live in a nation where usually the collateral is under the name of a woman’s father or husband.
Furthermore, not a lot of families support these businesses which further complicates this clause of loan schemes.
What are the necessary steps India should take to improve the socio-economic situation of females?
India is a developing country that has recognised the employment gap between men and women. However, due to our patriarchal history, it is hard to explain the importance of women’s employment and empowerment to the people.
India needs to strengthen the women’s business sector by not only providing financial support but also promoting these businesses on a national level. It is important to remove the hindrances surrounding female education and to address the issue of pay disparity.
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