Economic Empowerment and Women-Owned Micro and Small Enterprises in India - A Study with Special Reference to Engineering Sector of Howrah, West Bengal

Abstract

In any developing country like India, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) specially Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) are considered to be most vibrant sector with high potentiality in introducing appraising level of production, export promotion and employment generation at nominal capital base. These efforts of MSEs welcome socio-economic development in our society in different dimensions. If MSEs are attached with the marginalized women section of our society, they will invite gender inclusion in entrepreneurial operation. Women owned MSEs spread their hands in empowering the very gender from all corners specially economic, the energizing source of other areas of empowerment. In India, womenowned MSEs are found to be very nominal in comparison with the male-owned ones. Amongst different states of India, West Bengal (WBj is taken as a significant contributor so far as the number of women-owned MSEs and their performance are concerned. In overall performance of MSEs, WB always appreciates the role of engineering sector of Howrah, formerly known as Birmingham of the East. Though men dominated, the engineering MSEs of Howrah also found women owner-ship under their purview which are constantly empowering the women attached with these with their economic performance irrespective of having some troubles sometimes. But the scale of smoothness in operation of women-owned engineering MSEs sometimes varies based on the gender combination in ownership i.e. women in ownership with men which will have high impact on the level of empowerment of the women-owners attached with different natures of ownership. The present paper, therefore, aims at focusing on the scale of empowerment of the women owners of MSEs in association with the nature of entrepreneurship and also recommending some suggestions in this very respect.