Constraints on Women Entrepreneurship Development in Kerala: An ...

3. Enterprises and Entrepreneurs
Of the 200 women enterprises surveyed, 91 (45.5 percent) came under the classification of
WMU, 57 (28.5 percent) under JMU, and the rest 52 (26 percent) under MMU.
More than 80 percent of the women entrepreneurs were of the age group of 30-50 years.
There were slightly more than 10 percent who were below 30 years of age and about 8
percent who were more than 50 years.
Education
The educational levels of the entrepreneurs are shown in Table 3.1. They are shown separately
for the WMUs and the whole sample. It is observed that the women entrepreneurs were
relatively a well-educated group, with not more than one-fourth among them having education
of less than the SSLC level. Not much difference is observed between the WMU group and
the whole sample, in this respect.
Table 3.1 Educational Levels of the WMU Group and the Whole Sample
Educational WMUNo. Whole Sample
Qualification (percent) No. (percent)
Post-graduate 7 (7.7) 14 (7)
Graduate 22 (24.2) 42 (21)
Pre-degree 19 (20.9) 39 (19.5)
SSLC 24 (26.4) 57 (28.5)
Below SSLC 19 (20.9) 48 (24)
Total 91 (100) 200 (100)
Perception of performance
The greater part of the total sample tended to express dissatisfaction with the pace of progress
of their enterprises. But the level of satisfaction was marginally higher among the WMU
sample (Table 3.2).
Table 3.2 Levels of Satisfaction of Entrepreneurs about Enterprise Performance
Entrepreneur’s Perceived WMUNo. TotalNo.
Level of Success (percent) (percent)
Not successful 50(54.9) 114 (57.0)
Just successful 13(13.9) 26(13.0)
Successful to their level of satisfaction 20(22.0) 40(20.0)
Successful beyond their expectation 8(9.2) 19 (9.5)
At the height of its success 0(0.0) 1 (0.5)
Total 91(100) 200 (100)
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