Gender Differences in Youth Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Study of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

This research study compares and contrasts the socio-cultural, economic, and institutional ‎variables that contribute to gender inequalities in youth entrepreneurship in the Indian states of ‎Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Based on their resource availability, goals, and gendered responsibilities ‎to meet societal standards, this study aims to comprehend the various experiences of young men, ‎women, and gender-diverse individuals. The research was conducted using primary data ‎collected from 30 young entrepreneurs and statistical tools such as SPSS and Excel. In terms of ‎mentorship, funding, performance, and the longevity of their businesses, the results reveal that ‎young men enjoy sex-based advantages over young women. Entrepreneurship and small-scale ‎business development are driven by necessity for young women, particularly those from rural ‎backgrounds, who face financial precarity, restricted mobility, and gender norms and ‎expectations. While government programs like Kudumbashree in Kerala and Startup missions in ‎Tamil Nadu do offer support, they do not eliminate socio-cultural disadvantages simply because ‎someone has access to them—respondents who identified as transgender experienced systemic ‎exclusion. Despite the lack of statistically significant variations in perceived company ‎performance based on gender in the quantitative data analysis, the qualitative data nonetheless ‎demonstrated the persistence of gender bias in the region. The report acknowledges the need for ‎programs to address gender inequalities in entrepreneurship to develop more comprehensive ‎systems of support, including financial and mentorship assistance. It also calls for research into ‎policies that have an impact on and are dependent upon businesses to narrow the gender gap‎.