Necessity or Opportunity Driven: Gender Differentials and Structural Changes of Proprietorship in the Indian Unorganized Enterprises

Using the latest representative datasets of National Sample Survey, this article investigates the structural changes and gender differentials in proprietorship in the Indian unorganized enterprises. This article also identifies the relevant determinants of female proprietorship in the unorganized enterprises. This study distinguishes between two types of female entrepreneurs: necessity and opportunity entrepreneurs, based on their motivation behind operating an enterprise. This study also explores the potential factors responsible for this division. The findings show that there is only 2 per cent rise in the share of female proprietors in over a 5-year period (2010–2011 to 2015–2016) and female proprietors are increasingly concentrated in necessity-driven informal entrepreneurship.