Analysis of Impact and Access of Government Support Schemes for Female Entrepreneurs from Minority Communities in Punjab

Abstract

Entrepreneurship by women has become one of the major approaches to inclusive economic development in India. Nevertheless, the availability of state-funded entrepreneurial programs is still unequal, especially among female representatives of minority groups. The paper explores the effects and availability of government support programs to minority women entrepreneurs in Punjab with particular focus to how gender, minority status, education, and spatial location interact. The study is based on a mixed-methodology, utilizing the telephonic interviews with minority women entrepreneurs, split into two groups: those who have used the schemes provided by the government and those who have not. Quantitative trends are supplemented with qualitative stories to have both quantifiable results and experiences. Informed by Intersectionality Theory (Crenshaw), Weberian views on bureaucracy, and by Patricia Hill Collins, on power and marginalization, the study shows that although government schemes have led to moderate to high economic gains to beneficiaries, their empowerment possibilities are limited to bureaucratic complexity, institutional gatekeeping, and gendered norms. The lack of participation in entrepreneurial activities by eligible women is identified to be caused by not having the intention of being an entrepreneur but as a result of being informational excluded, having a lack of trust in institutions and the use of informal support systems. The results indicate that the current schemes are more efficient as financial interventions rather than as social inclusion tools. The research would add to sociological discussions about gender, entrepreneurship, and state policy by showing that intersectionally informed and structurally responsive policy frameworks are necessary to bring about substantive empowerment to minority women entrepreneurs.