The Growing Role of Women in Family Business – A Study in Mangalore City

India‟s core strength lies in a robust base of entrepreneurs who have tremendous potential in galvanizing the Indian economy and pushing it onto the road of sustained high growth. A confluence of factors such as greater flow of investments, new business opportunities, and a growing domestic market indicate that India is geared up to reinvigorate its entrepreneurial landscape. In most of the developing countries today, more and more emphasis is laid on the need for development of women and their active participation in the main stream of development process. Women have traditionally been involved in the informal economy, working in family businesses without formal position or pay and their economic contribution is often undervalued or just not mentioned at all. However, it is well recognized that any strategy aimed at economic development has to harness the potential of women in equal measure who constitute half of the world‟s population. Women entrepreneurs have an important impact on the economy, both in their ability to create jobs for themselves and to create jobs for others. Women‟s entrepreneurship development has emerged particularly in the wake of increasing globalization, with the support of progressive social, economic and political cross currents, technological advancement, and the media. This paper makes an attempt to know the growing role of women in family business and also tries to know the motivational factors of women in family business which in turn has contributed to women empowerment.