From Margins to Mainstream: An Intersectional Study of the Vulnerabilities and Policy Interventions for Women Start up Owners in India
Dr. Atashi RathWomen led start ups have contributed immensely to the innovation and economic growth of India. But, they continue to face various systemic and intersectional vulnerabilities. The present paper makes an attempt to study these limitations by making a review of the available literature and policy documents. The paper tries to study how constraints like financial exclusion, lack of mentorship and socio-cultural biases affect the women entrepreneurs. The study tries to show that women coming from socially and economically disadvantaged sections often become victims of market restrictions and funding disabilities. Caste segregations, geographical exclusions, burden of domestic work and lack of motivation acts as detrimental factors. This affects business scalability and entrepreneurship. To promote women in the startup ecosystem, Government of India has come up with policies like WE-Hub, Start-Up India and Stand-Up India. These policies have been designed to address the issues of credit and funding of women entrepreneurs. However, it has failed to address the issue of intersectional vulnerabilities. The current study makes an argument for an integrated policy approach addressing the existing intersectional gaps. These, along with the financial incentives, would also include the non- financial provisions like making arrangement for financial literacy, childcare, mentorship and increased ability. The paper also makes suggestions for collaborating with the local governments, community associations and self-help groups to increase the visibility and outreach of the policies and regular monitoring of programmes. By interlinking intersectional vulnerabilities and existing policies, the researcher tries to make a scholarly input advocating for inclusivity in policy intervention and promoting regionally balanced startup ecosystem in India.