A Study of Work-Life Integration for Women Entrepreneurs

: There is no doubt that women's responsibilities towards the family are important. If we talk about a woman entrepreneur, then this responsibility becomes even greater because she has to balance her work or enterprise and the work of her family. In the presented research paper, an attempt has been made to study the various aspects of women entrepreneurs that a woman entrepreneur has to do to balance her business and her family. This study is based on primary as well as secondary data.


Objectives of the study:
• To study the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in work life balance.
• Examine the impact of work life of women entrepreneurs on their family.
• To study the social support in work-life

Research Methodology:
Research paper is based on primary as well as secondary data.Primary data collected through questionnaire from the 100 women entrepreneurs from different district of Uttarakhand.For the convenient of the study three district selected from Kumaun region and three from the Garhwal region on the basis of demography.Secondary data have been collected from published journals, articles, reports, thesis, books and website.

Review of Literature:
"A Study of Work-Life Integration for Women Entrepreneurs," without specific details on researchers from international, national, or Uttarakhand perspectives.It's essential to note that the literature may have evolved, and new studies and researchers might have emerged since then.

International:
• Candida Brush's international contributions are noteworthy.Her research often focuses on gender issues in entrepreneurship, including work-life balance for women entrepreneurs.• Patricia Greene's international work in women's entrepreneurship spans topics related to work-life integration.Her research often provides insights into the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs globally.• Sucheta Agrawal ( 2015) Entrepreneurship has emerged as a global concept and contributed for economic development of the country.It utilizes competencies of entrepreneurs for success of their enterprises.Working women executives suffers the problem of work-life balance.Developing family responsibilities as well as their potential roles, generate the issue of role conflict.In order to overcome role conflict, they need to balance work and personal life style.To gain more flexibility and control on their work and personal obligations, women start up their own business.They contribute in job creation, innovation, and economic development of nation through their entrepreneurial activities.

National:
• While not specifically known for work-life integration, Nina Gupta is a researcher in the field of entrepreneurship in India.Her work may touch on challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs at the national level.• Sucheta Agrawal(2015) researcher has study of selected research paper on above topic and review.
• Shailja Agarwal has contributed to research on women entrepreneurship in India.Her work may provide insights into the unique aspects of work-life integration for women entrepreneurs in the country.
• Sweta kaganaver(2021),researcher has thrown light on challenges face by women entrepreneur while balancing.
• Usha lenka and Sucheta Agrawal(2017),finding by the researcher: Entrepreneurial learning occurs because of certain personal, social and environmentally driven motivational factors.Entrepreneurial learning helps in the development of personal, social, managerial and entrepreneurial competencies.These competencies are essential for the performance of an enterprise.In above study researcher have focus on various fact of women entrepreneur's problems but no focus on work-life integration of women entrepreneurs, hence initiate has taken of this fact.

Govt. Initiate for Promotion of MSME:
To mitigate the effect of COVID on MSMEs, (including women owned MSMEs) Government has taken a number of initiatives under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.Some of them are: 1. Rs. 5.00 Lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for businesses, including MSMEs; 2. Rs. 50,000 crore equity infusion through Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund; 3. Revised criteria for classification of MSMEs; 4. No global tenders for procurement upto Rs. 200 Cr; 5. Launch of an online portal "Champions" in June 2020 to cover many aspects of e-governance including redressing grievances and handholding of MSMEs; 6. Inclusion of Retail and Wholesale traders in MSMEs; 7. Non-tax benefits extended for 3 years in case of an upward change in status of MSMEs; 8. Launch of Udyam Assist Platform on 11.1.2023to bring Informal Micro Enterprises (IMEs) under the formal ambit for availing the benefit under Priority Sector Lending (PSL).
Through an amendment to the Public Procurement Policy, the Government has mandated that all Central Ministries/ Departments and Public Sector Undertakings should procure at least 3% of their annual procurement from women owned micro and small enterprises.

Conclusion:
The analysis done on the basis of the data obtained clearly shows that a female entrepreneur has to face more problems in balancing between business and family than a male entrepreneur; the reason for this is not that the female entrepreneur is in any way inferior are weaker than men.A woman entrepreneur has to discharge her family responsibilities along with her business, due to which the problems become more serious.A woman entrepreneur has to maintain a balance between her business and her family so that the negative impact of each other is avoided do not affect family and business.In this research paper, an attempt has been made to bring to light those facts which affect women entrepreneurs.Working Hours: From the analysis of the above data, it is known that on an average a woman entrepreneur devotes 10 hours per day and 60 hours per week to her business.That is, a woman entrepreneur creates a balance of 10:24 between her business and family, 10 hours for business and the remaining 14 hours for family, which also includes time for herself.Hence, it can be said that on the basis of time, a balance of 10:14 is created by the women entrepreneurs.Time for herself: On an average, a woman entrepreneur gives 10 hours to her business, while the remaining 14 hours are for family responsibilities.These 14 hours include the time that the woman entrepreneur gives to herself.
In the above analysis, the average age of women entrepreneurs is between 36 years to 60 years, which simply means that the age of the children of such women must not have been very high, that is, the children of most of the women entrepreneurs are school or college going.Which shows that family responsibilities will also be more.That is, it can be said that where women entrepreneurs are able to fulfil their family responsibilities The number of families of women entrepreneurs is shown in .In this analysis it is clear that 56 percent women belong to families in which the number of families is more than 4, while 44 percent women belong to families with less than this number.The greater the number of family members, the greater the workload of women.That is, this analysis shows that despite the workload of women entrepreneurs being more, they are still capable of running their enterprises, family and business.In this research paper, an attempt has been made to bring to light those facts which affect women entrepreneurs.

References:
1. Agarwal, S. and Lenka, U. ( 2015 Certainly!When conducting research on the study of work-life integration for entrepreneurs, you might want to consider using variables that capture different aspects of their work and personal lives.Here are some potential variables you could include: 1. Work Hours: • Average number of hours worked per week.
• Number of days worked per week.

Personal Time:
• Amount of time spent on personal activities per week.
• Frequency of taking breaks during work hours.

Technology Use:
• Dependence on technology for work outside of regular working hours.
• Use of communication tools for personal and professional purposes.

Work Satisfaction:
• Self-reported satisfaction with work.
• Perception of achieving work-related goals.

Personal Well-being:
• Self-reported overall well-being.
• Frequency of engaging in activities that promote personal well-being.

Flexibility:
• Perception of flexibility in work hours and location.
• Availability of flexible work arrangements.

Social Support:
• Availability and utilization of social support networks.
• Impact of social support on work-life integration.
• Factors contributing to stress in both work and personal life.10.Boundary Management: • Strategies used to manage boundaries between work and personal life.
• Perception of effectiveness in maintaining work-life balance.

Family and Relationships:
• Impact of entrepreneurial activities on family and relationships.
• Satisfaction with family life.12. Health and Wellness: • Self-reported physical and mental health.
• Lifestyle choices affecting health.
Remember, the specific variables you choose will depend on the focus of your research and the questions you aim to answer.You may also want to consider using both quantitative and qualitative measures to gain a comprehensive understanding of the experiences of entrepreneurs in terms of worklife integration.

Table - 3 Family of Respondents Entrepreneurs
The Ministry also implements several other schemes for promotion and development of MSMEs, including women owned MSMEs, namely, Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP), Tool Rooms & Technology Centres, Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), Procurement and Marketing Support Scheme, Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Programme (ESDP).