23.05  Women Entrepreneurs

. Women Entrepreneurs Women entrepreneurship has been getting growing recognition over the past two decades across the world. Women entrepreneurs not only generate new jobs for themselves but also for others. They provide society with different solutions to management, organisation and business problems. Women owned businesses are playing a pivotal role in the upsurge of entrepreneurial activity in the United States. It is reported that the highest number of self employed women are in Sweden followed by England, France and USA. In general, women are attracted to retail trade, restaurants, hotels, education, insurance and manufacturing. In our country, women constitute only . per cent of the total self employed persons in India. Majority of them opted for agriculture, agro based industries, handicrafts, handlooms, cottage industries but in ( census) it has improved to percent. Women entrepreneurship is gaining importance in India in the wake of economic liberalisation and globalisation. The policy and institutional framework for nurturing entrepreneurial skills, imparting vocation education and training has widened the horizon for economic empowerment of the women. However, women constitute one third of the economic enterprise. There are scores of successful women entrepreneurs both in economic and social fields in India. Thus, a stage has been already set for social take-off of women from a low development path to an accelerated pace in achieving higher level of self sustaining economic growth in the wake of new economic policy .