Workshop on ‘Women Empowerment through Entrepreneurship’
Aligarh : Female students, stay-at-home mothers, social media influencers, and artisans participated in extensive discussions and critique sessions to understand the role women can play as business owners in the workshop on ‘Women Empowerment through Entrepreneurship’ held recently at the Frank and Debbie Islam Entrepreneurship Incubation Centre (FDIEIC), Department of Business Administration, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
FDIEIC organised the programme with CMS VATAVARAN, a forum which shows films to create impact and change perceptions. The workshop was held under the Project Her & Now in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, New Delhi and GIZ, Germany.
“Even as the convergence between male and female business owners in the developed countries is becoming more and more balanced, the inequality gap is still significant and the progress is slow. Women form an important segment of the economy and their role cannot be isolated from the development frame work”, said Prof Salma Ahmed (Dean, Faculty of Management Studies and Research) while encouraging women to become entrepreneurs.
Prof Jamal A Farooquie (Chairman, Department of Business Administration) pointed out: “Despite entrepreneurial spark, many young women fail to start their own business and we need to ponder on why it seems harder for women? One of the reasons for this problem is that the male-dominant environment does not always encourage a woman-in-business role—and earning respect and finding capital can become a struggle for women, but it shouldn’t have to be this way”.
“The main reason for a smaller number of women entrepreneurships remains the lack of family support and the socio-economic system we have created. But there is no doubt that awareness can help us to do away with this issue and more and more of these workshops will surely encourage women to start successful business”, he said.
The CMS VATAVARAN speakers discussed ways to eliminate patriarchy, gender mainstreaming, community discouragement and other obstacles to motivate women for entrepreneurship.
They also screened short films on women entrepreneurship and conducted group discussions.
Prof Ayesha Farooq (Coordinator, Entrepreneurship Committee) shared how FDIEIC and its faculty and student members are promoting entrepreneurial activities.
Mohammad Maaz Husain (Incubation Manager, FDIEIC) extended the vote of thanks.