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Executive Interviews: Interview with Shahnaz Hussain on Women Executives
July 2007
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By Dr. Nagendra V Chowdary
Shahnaz Hussain Pioneer and Leader of herbal care in India She is also a pioneer of Vocational Training in Cosmetology in India. 
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Empirical evidence shows that
women contribute significantly to
the running of family businesses,
mostly in the form of unpaid effort
and skills. The value of this effort is
underestimated both by the
families that take it for granted and
in academic studies too. On the
other hand, many enterprises said
to be run by women (that is,
enterprises in which women hold
the controlling share) are in fact
done in their name by men who
control operations and decisionmaking.
Why do women take the
back seat? Or is it that they are
forced to do so? Do you think
women are not getting their share of
well deserved success?
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The status of women
entrepreneurship in any country is
a ref lection of the social
conditions. In general, in the larger
perspective, in India, women have
taken the back seat in society itself.
Women cannot abdicate their
familial responsibilities. They
have had to surmount the barriers
of tradition and social norms, but
gradually, they are coming to terms
about the importance of holding
their own in the outside world. In
the metro cities and urban areas,
the status of women has improved,
because women are now found in
every sphere of the career world.
But when we take the total
population of women into account,
the percentage is so small that it
cannot make a great impact. -
Keeping in mind this paradox as
well as of the familial and social
conditioning that reduces the
confidence, independence and
mobility of women, what steps /
programs / policies do you suggest
for women entrepreneurs?
First and foremost is education.
Education and even adult literacy
should become major movements
and programs. With education,
financial independence is possible.
The woman should experience
financial independence, because it
is an empowering factor. Awareness
of education and the status of
women should be improved. The
role of women's organizations
should be to focus attention on these
issues and to organize programs
where women can themselves play a
role to help themselves. They
should also highlight instances
where women have excelled, in
order to inspire women in general.
The woman has to fight for her own
independence, but first she has to
realize that she has every right to do
so. Secondly, the programs should
increase awareness about the
opportunities of entrepreneurship,
the sectors which can be explored
for business, the prevailing legal
aspects, the availability of finance,
the knowledge or skills that can be
acquired, as well as the support
offered by different agencies. The
woman also needs to be aware of
how she can balance career and
family responsibilities. Actually, creative and cultural
industries play an important role in
the economy of developing nations,
not only in terms of economic
growth, but also to achieve social
stability, generate employment,
create wealth and preserve culture.
India is a country with a rich cultural
heritage, which has immense
economic potential. In fact, it has
been seen that cultural industries
have contributed to a rapid rise in
GDP. In the present scenario, women
can explore the possibilities of
developing traditional industries, but
need support to compete in the
international market. For example,
Ayurveda can be developed into a traditional industry, considering that
the importance of holistic systems
like Ayurveda is being recognized
throughout the world. Similarly, our
traditional crafts can be so developed
as to provide opportunities for
entrepreneurship. The infrastructure
needs to be developed. There is also
the need for knowledge on vocational
training.
1.
Women Executives/CEOs Case Studies
2. ICMR
Case Collection
3.
Case Study Volumes
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