Abstract
This study investigates the women’s entrepreneurship landscape in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, with particular emphasis on understanding the differences and similarities between the coastal and non-coastal regions. The coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, with their unique economic activities such as fishing and maritime trade, offer different opportunities and challenges to women entrepreneurs than non-coastal regions, which are characterised by different industries and economic structures. In the situation where men are oppressed and rejected in society, many women face different kinds of challenges with their own efforts and intelligence and excel in this field as woman entrepreneurs in this society, also about the challenges faced by the achiever and the recognition. In this study, we will see in detail how the capital required starting the business and the professional and technical knowledge are available, and in the best way they can expand their business in a visionary way and achieve excellence. And we can all know about all kinds of opportunities between women entrepreneurs in coastal districts and women entrepreneurs in non-coastal districts in Tamil Nadu. The study is qualitative in nature; here, data were obtained from a primary and secondary source, and documents were reviewed to discuss the topic under study using the available resources. This study examined whether coastal women entrepreneurs were dominated in the entrepreneurship of non-coastal women entrepreneurs. Based on the findings of the studies, conclusions have been drawn for the main domains of the study. The results of this study are expected to provide valuable insights to policymakers, business support organisations and researchers interested in promoting women’s entrepreneurship in Tamil Nadu. Understanding the nuances of entrepreneurial ecosystems in different geographic contexts will allow us to develop targeted interventions to empower and support women entrepreneurs, ultimately improving state. It can contribute to the economic development of both the coastal and non-coastal regions.
Keywords
Introduction
Women, in general, exhibit gentleness and adhere to home traditions and customs, as well as maintain their own religious customs and cultural practices without altering the traditions. In doing so, they demonstrate their equality with men in our society by adjusting to changing times and pursuing education. Those women who have achieved social status and embraced entrepreneurship have elevated their role in society, serving as head of their families. Such women, who have long been successful entrepreneurs and assume family responsibilities, are deserving of celebration and recognition in this gathering for their remarkable contributions.
An increasing number of women are showing interest in entrepreneurship as it provides them with the opportunity to take control of their own destiny, tackle the challenges they wish to overcome and potentially earn more money than they would from solely caring for their families. To pursue business, women are now seeking more relevant education and ideals. With a current global population of 7.1 billion and a projected growth rate of 97 million people per year, the world’s population is estimated to reach 8.5 billion by 2025, with around 95 per cent of the increase happening in developing nations.
In India, the number of women entrepreneurs is steadily rising. This contributes significantly to the country’s economic development, increasing the value of Indian women on a global scale. The central and state governments have established various incentives and financial support systems to encourage women to flourish as entrepreneurs. Specifically, they offer special benefits to women entrepreneurs in non-coastal districts, while the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu receive additional support. Currently, women manage 20 per cent of all business enterprises in India, with Kalpana Saroj leading the way as the country’s first female entrepreneur. She was born into a Dalit community, got married at the age of 12 and overcame the challenges posed by her husband’s family to become a self-motivated woman entrepreneur. Many other women like her are emerging as new entrepreneurs in society, driving the growth of women-led businesses in the first generation.
The introduction of the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) programmes in 1982 marked a new era. These programmes systematically brought together rural women from across the country, providing them with long-term opportunities for self-employment. Thousands of women participated in this programme, acquiring various skills under the DWCRA umbrella.
Numerous women are engaged in small and micro-businesses, playing a significant role in the economic development of the country. Additionally, we will present a comprehensive comparative study examining the living conditions, economic development and social status of women entrepreneurs in both the coastal and non-coastal districts.
Review of Literature
Minimol (2017) examined the social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial competency of Kerala’s micro business owners. The goal of the study was to determine how entrepreneurial competency and social entrepreneurship are related, as well as to provide a theoretical framework that would explain how these two factors are related. According to the study’s findings, social entrepreneurship among woman micro-entrepreneurs is influenced by entrepreneurial ability.
Manzanera-Roman and Brandle (2016) point out a gender discourse that illustrates how business owners give women access to skills deemed ‘belonging’. The traits of woman entrepreneurs are typically centred on persistence, interpersonal and communication abilities, and the capacity to treat others with empathy or social sensitivity.
Halfacree (2006) discovered that the countryside has changed from being primarily an agricultural area used for production to a primarily consumption-oriented space due to the increasing demand placed on rural regions as tourism and recreation destinations, aided by society. This also started to become popular in the majority of India’s rural coastal areas.
Since small-scale economic activities can make a major contribution to well-being and quality of life, communities can offer social and emotional services that incentivise a household to stay in a region of economic decline. That study demonstrated the significant implications women’s local community embedding and increased reliance on small-scale strong-tie networks have on their immediate surroundings. The welfare that comes from woman entrepreneurs’ endeavours is typically greater than that which comes from men’s. Thus, it is further confirmed by Acs et al. (2008) that nations with lower per-capita GDP tend to have a higher proportion of woman entrepreneurs.
Buttner (2001) and Burke and Collins (2001) also examined a comparable outcome and social status of entrepreneur. In India, women are starting to turn to entrepreneurship as a way out of poverty, particularly in rural areas. Additionally, Marsden (1999) discovered that rural have evolved into multipurpose areas used for leisure, entertainment, work and living. Every woman entrepreneur has demographic traits that empower and assist her in carrying out tasks necessary to generate connected goods and services. Significant progress has also been achieved towards gender equality by woman entrepreneurs.
Cejka and Eagly (1999), studying the structural explanation of gender-based disparities in human behaviour, asserted that men and women behave in accordance with the stereotypes connected to the social roles they hold.
According to Eagly and Wood (1999), women are seen as more communal, and this is demonstrated by characteristics that are typically linked to household tasks (e.g., nurturing, connectivity, friendliness and emotional expressiveness).
According to Bass et al. (1996), women entrepreneurs are more adept than their male counterparts at demonstrating ‘transformational’ leadership—that is, a style of management that aims to promote positive interactions and trust relations with or among subordinates, to share power and information, and to motivate staff members to put their personal goals.
Objectives of the Study
To study financial autonomy and decision-making.
To analyse mobility, independence and standard of living.
To compare coastal and non-coastal women empowerment.
Research Methodology
A multi-stage random sampling procedure was used to choose the sample respondents. The study’s population consisted of all the women entrepreneurs in coastal Tamil Nadu, who is classified as either coastal or non-coastal. Four districts—Cuddalore, Villupuram, Kallakurichi and Thiruvannamalai—were chosen at random sample from the entire state of Tamil Nadu for the first stage based on the quantity of entrepreneurs operating there. Twenty woman entrepreneurs were selected from each district for the second phase, taking into account many parameters including the year of creation, the number of members, the quantity of savings and loans, the number of income-generating activities (IGAs) completed and the thrift of each member. Using the list of participants from each cohort, 100 woman entrepreneurs were chosen to make up the sample in the third stage. An effort was made to get feedback from each of the 15 members, including coastal and non-coastal. Nevertheless, one or two respondents were removed from the list in extremely unusual instances when members remained unreachable despite multiple efforts. Consequently, a total of 100 response members came from four different districts: Cuddalore, Villuppuram, Kallakurchi and Thiruvannamalai. Entrepreneurs from four districts, both coastal and non-coastal, resulted in a final sample of 50 coastal and 50 non-coastal entrepreneurs, for a total sample size of 100.
Results and Discussion
Financial Autonomy and Decision-Making
A significant proportion of women entrepreneurs exhibit high confidence and a keen interest in entrepreneurship. With adequate financial assistance and support from both the government and family, they have the potential to accomplish even more business objectives. Numerous studies highlight the substantial contribution of women entrepreneurs to the overall economic growth of the country.
Entrepreneurship is prevalent among both coastal and non-coastal women. However, coastal entrepreneurs, in particular, demonstrate greater potential for wealth generation and business investment. Financial institutions, including the banking sector and microfinance, actively provide funding to support coastal women entrepreneurs. Consequently, coastal women entrepreneurs enjoy higher financial autonomy compared to their non-coastal counterparts.
Coastal and Non-Coastal Women Empowerment
In coastal regions, women are frequently involved in a variety of economic pursuits, including aquaculture and fishing. They participate in trade and commerce pertaining to coastal resources, which makes a substantial contribution to the economic landscape. Women entrepreneurs operate in a variety of economic sectors in non-coastal locations, including in small-scale industry, services and agriculture. Their active involvement in revenue-generating activities is indicative of economic empowerment. The physical isolation of coastal locations may affect women’s access to school and thus affect literacy rates. Nonetheless, there are programmes in place to overcome the gaps in education. Women have better access to education in non-coastal areas since these places frequently have stronger educational facilities. Higher literacy rates and more possibilities for skill development are a result of this. Coastal communities may have distinctive customs and cultural practices. These traditions influence women’s roles in the home and in the community, which is a reflection of the empowerment of women within them. Women’s responsibilities may be influenced by differing cultural norms in non-coastal places. These cultural variables must be taken into account and respected in empowerment attempts. Women who live near the seaside may encounter difficulties with maintaining the environment, particularly in the fishing industry. Sustainable practices, like encouraging environmentally friendly fishing techniques and marine conservation activities, are the main focus of empowerment programmes. Sustainable agricultural and land-based practices are the focus of empowerment programmes in non-coastal locations, which may have unique environmental challenges. Healthcare service accessibility may be an issue, especially in isolated coastal communities. Programmes for women’s empowerment frequently incorporate health-related measures to enhance general well-being. It is possible that non-coastal areas have a superior infrastructure for healthcare. Increasing knowledge and access to healthcare services might be the main goals of empowerment initiatives. The sustainable development of coastal communities may be prioritised by government policies in coastal locations. Initiatives aimed at empowering women frequently focus on community empowerment, financial inclusion and skill development. Government programmes may focus on a wider range of sectors in non-coastal areas. Initiatives specifically designed for woman entrepreneurs seek to increase economic prospects and promote total empowerment.
In Tamil Nadu, empowering women, both coastal and non-coastal, is a complex and situation-specific process. The specific opportunities and constraints posed by the geographical and sociocultural features of each region should be taken into account while designing efforts.
Standard of Living
According to statistics, the coastal entrepreneurs had a mean score of 4.024 with a standard deviation of 1.1038, whereas the non-coastal entrepreneurs had a mean score of 3.675 with a standard deviation of 0.2881 (Table 1).
Standard of Living.
T-test was employed to find the difference in standard of living between the coastal and non-coastal women entrepreneurs. The Levene’s test for equality of variances shows F value of 46.168, and a significance value of 0.00, when equal variances are assumed to exist. Thus, the two categories of respondents differed significantly in variance of response. T-test [equality of variance not assumed] shows a T value of 4.937 with a significance level of 0.00. The 95 per cent confidence interval of difference is 0.2078–0.4827. Thus, there exists significant difference [at 95 per cent confidence level] between the coastal and non-coastal women entrepreneurs.
Conclusion
The study provides results on women entrepreneurs’ financial independence and decision-making in their businesses. The study brought attention to the critical role that financial autonomy plays in promoting decision-making power by examining how women manage and control their financial resources. Women who are economically empowered not only have better personal lives, but they also advance society as a whole. A more sophisticated understanding of the social factors influencing the lives of woman entrepreneurs was made possible by the examination of mobility, independence and standard of living. The results emphasised how mobility, freedom and general quality of life are intertwined. Independence was found to be highly influenced by mobility, and both variables had a major effect on living standards. Establishing a more welcoming and encouraging atmosphere for woman entrepreneurs requires identifying and removing obstacles to mobility.
The study that compared coastal and non-coastal areas clarified differences in the degree of empowerment experienced by female entrepreneurs. The study revealed discrepancies in cultural influences, socio-economic considerations and environmental sustainability practices, underscoring the necessity of region-specific solutions. It is essential to design empowerment programmes to meet the particular difficulties that women in coastal and non-coastal areas experience in order to promote more sustainable and equitable business ecosystems.
All things considered, this study adds significant knowledge to the current discussion about women’s empowerment by offering a context-specific analysis of Tamil Nadu coastal and non-coastal regions. By meeting the above goals, the study contributes to the body of knowledge regarding women’s entrepreneurship in academia and provides useful insights for communities, practitioners and policymakers who are interested in promoting an empowered and inclusive society. Understanding the diversity of women’s experiences is critical as we work through the challenges of gender empowerment in order to create focused, successful plans for empowering and assisting women entrepreneurs in a range of socio-geographic contexts.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
