This unique edited collection explores the ways in which entrepreneurship acts to shape self-identity for Indian women and validate their identities in a patriarchal society. Differing from existing literature which focuses on the antecedents of entrepreneurship for women and their performing outcomes,Indian Women as Entrepreneursquestions whether entrepreneurship is simply about exploiting a business opportunity for profitability. Asserting that both work and societal environments have an impact on an entrepreneurs self-identity, this book demonstrates ways in which self-concept influences the entrepreneurs relationship with their work in terms of motivation, effort and performance. Building onUnveiling Womens Leadership, this book provides an original and important contribution to the literature on entrepreneurial Indian women.  

Payal Kumar is an independent scholar with rich experience in senior leadership positions in both higher education and the corporate sector. As Registrar and Professor at a North Indian University, she launched the university publication and research division. Previous to this she was Vice President of Editorial and Production at SAGE Publications India Private Ltd. As an academician, she has published widely and is an Editorial Board Member of several reputed journals.

Preface.- Foreword by Dr Bruce Hiebert.-PART ONE: THE INDIAN NARRATIVE.- Chapter 1 Interplay between individual and shared identities of woman entrepreneurs in Manipur (Bisoya  Loitongbam and Priyatam Anurag).- Chapter 2 the complex hues of entrepreneurial identity amongst women owning accounting firms (Sujana Adapa and Alison Sheridan).- Chapter 3 Intrinsic rewards of the transition from home-maker to entrepreneur (Meenakshi P.).- Chapter 4 Do women turn to entrepreneurship to maintain a better work-life balance? (Bala Subramanian R. and Sachin Kumar).- Chapter 5 Entrepreneurship among rural Indian women: empowerment through enterprise (Ambika Prasad).- Chapter 6 Leadership style of Indian women in the context of the GLOBE cultural framework (Louise Kelly).-PART TWO: THE DIASPORA NARRATIVE.- Chapter 7 Understanding the gendered identity role of skilled female entrepreneurs amongst the Indian diaspora in Europe (Neha Chatwani).- Chapter 8 The gender, racio-ethnic and professional identity work of an Indian woman entrepreneur in South Africa (Nasima M. H. Carrim).-PART THREE: CASE STUDIES.- Chapter 9 Case Study 1: Entrepreneurship as a vehicle to prove my worth (Prathibha Sastry).- Chapter 10 Case Study 2: How working in a collective boosts self-esteem and choice-making propensity in women (Simran Anand).- Chapter 11 Case Study 3: Its my business: Personal evolution and assertion of identity (Sonavi Desai).