Sunday, October 27, 2002		Books

Balancing home and work
Kanwalpreet

Women & Rural Entrepreneurship in India
edited by D. D. Sharma and S. K. Dhameja. Abhishek Publications, Chandigarh. Pages 232. Rs 495.

IT is often said that to understand a civilisation, its excellences and its limitations, one has to study the history of the position and status of women in it. The concept of women’s empowerment, thus, carries a lot of significance and it has always been dependent on the prevailing models of development. This is what the book under review wants to prove. The essays from different contributors have a common theme to prove that small enterprises are a vehicle for uplifting the weaker sections of the population, especially for women, as she has to create a fine balance between home and workplace.

S. K. Dhameja with his co-writers, B. S. Bhatia and J. S. Saini, discusses the problems and constraints of women entrepreneurs. They conclude after a field study that besides problems like occupational mobility, household chores and marketing, it is the lack of risk-taking and experimentation that hinders the growth of enterprises run by women. According to them, a good educational background, backed by a relevant training, does boost the entrepreneur to go in for modernisation, innovation and improvement in the product or services offered by her.

While defining the word "entrepreneur," Dangwal and Saklani consider an entrepreneur as "one of the most important input in the economic development of a country." Their study reveals the problems faced by women entrepreneurs at their own level as well as at the level of enterprise. They suggest that along with education, awareness about the enterprise is essential for woman and the programme to succeed. A study by Gurcharan Singh and Manpinder Sidhu about Moga-based Malti Thaper seems out of place. In fact, to study a person like Malti, who had ample resources and backing, does not reflect the struggle of an entrepreneur.

S. P. Bedi and J. S. Saini in their essay suggest in a very interesting manner as to how the skills of potential women entrepreneurs can be sharpened. Another essay by J. S. Saini talks of the SWOT analysis (analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) to be carried out for our entrepreneurs. He gives a detailed list of enterprises, which can be set up besides the usual 3 P’s—pickles, powder (spices) and papads. Jagninder Singh and Sanjeev discuss the emerging business opportunities on the Internet and the obstacles that lie therein. They also talk about strategies to harness the full potential of the Internet. Such businesses offer more services in a more efficient manner and in a lesser time. They finally conclude that e-commerce is here to stay.

The book is a must for libraries and for all those who are writing and deliberating on women’s issues. With adequate data, field study, tables, etc., this book would not be of much interest to a reader who is looking for a relaxed reading. The only drawback in this book is that there are too many spelling mistakes. In fact, at times such mistakes irritate the reader. Perhaps one more reading before the final print was necessary. The book is educative and insightful. The idea to empower women through these studies is indeed laudable as women are those unseen forces that help society in achieving the goal of sustainable development.