On November 19, we mark Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, a day spearheaded by the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization to celebrate and support women in business worldwide.
In India, women entrepreneurs face a variety of challenges, having to navigate a myriad of issues to pursue their dreams. Reports suggest that only 13.76% of all entrepreneurs in India are women, and only 20.37% of all MSMEs are owned by women.
This Women’s Day, we at Moonfires.com wish to celebrate women’s entrepreneurship.
Notably, women have had a long history of being entrepreneurs. Since the 19th century, they have been breaking barriers and paving the way for other boss females. From running home-based businesses to scaling large teams, women have been breaking glass ceilings along the way. Successful women entrepreneurs like Oprah Winfrey, Cher Wang, Indra Nooyi, Falguni Nayar, Vandana Luthra, Kiran Shaw Mazumdar, Gina Rinehart, are inspiring others to venture on the path of entrepreneurship through their success stories.
Today’s women are thriving in startups or branching out on their own as independent consultants or freelancers. More women are willing to take a leap of faith in business as it gives them the freedom to set their schedule, earn their own money, and the freedom to pursue their passions.
Women Entrepreneurship Day History
Women’s Entrepreneurship Day was the brainchild of an organisation called the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organisation (WEDO). The organisation believes in supporting the women community and educating leaders on the social as well as economic benefits of women entrepreneurship. Due to these continuous efforts, the United Nations announced to celebrate Women’s Entrepreneurship Day on November 19 every year.
The inaugural event was held in New York City at the United Nations, with some additional events being held simultaneously in several other countries. Initially, 144 nations in total recognised the first WED in 2014, which also included the presentation of the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Pioneer Awards.
Women Entrepreneurship Day was founded and implemented by Pet Pioneer, Animal Fair Media Founder and Ellis Island Medal of Honor recipient Wendy Diamond, after volunteering with the Adelante Foundation which provides microcredit to low-income women while in Honduras.
The reason behind observing Women Entrepreneurship Day is to empower and support women in business and to encourage them in alleviating poverty. Over the last decade, the world has witnessed the emergence and growth of women-owned businesses globally, making up 38% of all small businesses that keep the economy growing and developing.
