STARTUPS LEAD IN GENDER PARITY

In 2023 of all unicorns in India, 17 percent were led by women. Data shows that women-led enterprises are more sensitive to women-centric issues and allow more growth prospects to women employees, but how good are they in bargaining for capital? We speak to women in business in search of home truths

- Nitesh Kumar

WOMEN HAVE BEEN crashing out of that proverbial glass ceiling for decades now. So their omnipresence in the realm of "startups" or first-generation business and industrial ventures - is hardly surprising. According to the Women in India's Startup Ecosystem Report (WISER) 2023, the participation of women at the entry-level in both startups and traditional business ventures is almost the same. Participation of women is 38 percent in startups and 37 percent in the corporate sector as a whole. Surprisingly, startups outpace corporates when it comes to women in senior roles.

Startups have around 32 percent of women in managerial positions and 18 percent in the role of founders or CEOs. In legacy corporate entities 21 percent of the managerial positions are held by women and a paltry five percent of the roles of founders or chief executives are filled by them. "As women are major purchasers, they understand the customer's needs well and are best suited to start and build businesses," says Indian Angel Network Co-founder Padmaja Ruparel.

Clearly, startups perform better in terms of gender diversity and data shows that that these small ventures are also more ardent about upholding gender parity. The WISER data shows that women-led startups perform better in terms of women's representation across functions. Women founders are more acutely aware of barriers for women, including safety and care responsibilities, and are consequently more likely to introduce policies to address them. "There is still much work to be done to further empower and encourage women to pursue entrepreneurship and bridge the gender gap in entrepreneurship," says Ruparel.