Indian women entrepreneurs and employment – local economic impact and lessons for green economics

Research undertaken in South India (Taylor, 2008), investigated the local economic impact of small businesses and considered whether female entrepreneurs in India exhibit different economic behaviour to men. This involved in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 women's businesses and 10 men's, covering a range of small business types and locations in Mysore. The research investigated the effects each business had on employment, income and poverty alleviation. The research, grounded in the literature of gender and small businesses in India (e.g., Harriss-White, 2003) found differing employment patterns between male and female entrepreneurs (Taylor, 2008). The local economic impact of the businesses differed according to the gender of the owner due to the different spending imperatives of male and female entrepreneurs and the women they employ. The paper considers whether there is any evidence that the differing employment patterns of female entrepreneurs inform the emerging Green Economics agenda and issues of sustainability.women entrepreneurs; local economic impact; green economics; poverty alleviation; gender; differential spending; Mysore; Karnataka; India; female employment; small businesses; small firms; entrepreneurship; sustainability; sustainable development.