BENGALURU : Despite more and more women breaking the glass ceiling in entrepreneurship, their representation remains skewed in the start-up ecosystem. Out of 1,021 start-ups funded in 2016, only 25 have female-only founders. This raises questions on the availability of female mentorship, say experts.
According to Vijayalakshmi Rao, Mentor/Business Advisor, TiE Chennai, there is a large need for female mentors. “There aren’t enough senior women in the corporate world with exposure to the entrepreneurial ecosystem or in angel investing,” she pointed out.
“As women who have traversed the journey, we can understand and empathise with challenges that women typically face... Sometimes, there could even be issues like gender bias when dealing with stakeholders.”
Priya Choksi, Co-founder of ThinkPhi, pointed out that she has hardly interacted with female mentors. “I wish the PM would create an incubator which has only women to push others to come forward. The government has to lead from the top to change perception towards women entrepreneurs,” she said. Rashi Menda, CEO and founder of Zapyle and Rati Shetty, CEO and co-founder, Bankbazaar.com agreed. “I had three mentors throughout my life and all have been men,” Menda pointed out, while Shetty said that women need to be socially and professionally empowered to take the first step.
“What is most important is confidence to actually make a break for it. Women who receive lesser exposure and fewer opportunities due to social pressure may have problems,” she said.
Richa Singh, CEO & Co-founder of YourDost.com says that while she did not face any issues just because she was a woman, accelerators and incubators should conduct gender neutral events. “Gender exclusive events do not bring out the best in us,” Singh pointed out.