NO : WP-2024-008
AUTHOR : Rozi Kumari and Rupayan Pal
TITLE : Catastrophic Decline in Women Ownership of Firms in India: 2014-2022
ABSTRACT :
Level playing field for women to participate in decision making and leadership positions is key to progress of a nation. Analysing widely used nationally representative datasets from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES), we document that women ownership and participation in top management of registered private firms in India has drastically decreased, from low to a very meagre level, during the period from 2014 to 2022, despite sustained GDP growth and launch of several government programs to promote entrepreneurship. The pattern of decline is consistent across sectors (manufacturing and services) and size-groups (small, medium, and large) of firms, barring some variations. This is true regardless of the measure of women ownership considered and is not due to entry and exit of firms.
Keywords: Firm ownership, Women, Private registered firms, Decision rights, Leadership, Entrepreneur
JEL Code: : O10, G32, J54, L26, B54
Weblink: http://www.igidr.ac.in/pdf/publication/WP-2024-008.pdf
