Women Empowerment with the Power of STEAM

Abstract

STEM fields are identified as the top skills in demand across the globe and India has the additional advantage of adding 'steam' to this list, especially with women being skilled in amazing Art related fields which are admired all over the world. Hence, there is a need to explore and identify STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art and Mathematics) areas of business development towards empowering women, scaling from the grass root level to the global platform. Each aspect of entrepreneurship is connected deeply with the five components of STEAM; whether it is science, technology, engineering, art or mathematics. For example, science and mathematics are the backbones of engineering and technology which in turn complement and strengthen entrepreneurial ventures in terms of product design and development, market analysis etc.; while the businesses dealing with creative art industries like photography, baking, painting, regional artwork, different forms of music ,array of handcrafted items and gadgets etc. offer a strong potential for the Start- ups to showcase in the international markets with the help of technological tools. It has been specifically addressed in Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG 5)to consider "the need to enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular the information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women." This paper will envisage upon insights into women’s entrepreneurship in STEAM at the global level. It addresses various aspects related to the strategies for promoting knowledge in STEM/STEAM for women and girls, creating awareness of entrepreneurships in innovative areas and also discusses the challenges faced by women for initiating start-ups such as how women entrepreneurs are affected by the hurdles of defining and negotiating their entrepreneurial identity while asking for loans from the bank etc. and possible suggestions are made to resolve them. The paper also gives comprehensive knowledge about the various initiatives rolled out by the Government of India through different platforms which are aimed at encouraging women towards entrepreneurships in STEAM related fields.