An Empirical Analysis ofWork-Life Balance of RuralWomen Entrepreneurs in Karnataka

Abstract

Entrepreneurship development is a key to economic growth and it has been playing a focal role in achieving the goals of development paving way for improvement in standard of living. A woman as an entrepreneur is economically more powerful than as a mere worker, because ownership not only confers control over assets but also gives her the freedom to take decisions. This will also uplift her social status in the society. The rural women entrepreneurs made their mark in enterprises assuming new challenges and opportunities for self fulfillment and also to control the balance between their families responsibly. In the existing familial and societal setup, entrepreneurial women are overburdened and find it increasingly difficult to balance their work and life roles. The major objective of the present study was to develop and validate an appropriate tool to illustrate the work-life balance (WLB) issues faced by women entrepreneurs of Karnataka. The important factors influencing the WLB of these women entrepreneurs have also been sought. Data were collected by area sampling (cluster- random) paired with semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire. The generated data were subjected to standard statistical procedures, such as factor analysis, regression analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-test. This study revealed that role overload, dependent care issues, quality of health, problems with time management and lack of proper social support are the major factors influencing the WLB of women entrepreneurs in India. Though the vast majority of the entrepreneurs examined in this study suffer fromWLB issues, there are significant differences in the level ofWLB issues faced by the various categories of women entrepreneurs.