Equality Means Business: Factors Affecting Indian Women-Owned Small Business’s Scalability & Impact of Entrepreneurship on Financial Independence Maanya Singh 1 1 Indus International School Bangalore, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India ABSTRACT The lack of women’s economic participation and financial independence is a major contributor to gender inequality in India. The creation of women-owned MSME businesses in the cottage and F&B industry not only provides women with job opportunities, but also empowers them in the sense that they no longer need to be socioeconomically subordinate to their male representatives. Towards this need, the aim of this study was to understand the factors that impact the financial independence of India’s urban-based women entrepreneurs owning small F&B businesses, as well as evaluate the impact of entrepreneurship on their social and economic empowerment. The sample set of the data were 21 urban India-based female entrepreneurs, between the ages of 20-60 years of age, owning small (less than 10 employees) businesses. The interviews and surveys were conducted in English, and over online video call and messaging softwares (Instagram, WhatsApp and Zoom). Under the qualitative portion, each participant was subjected to an in-depth 1-hour interview in which they elaborated on their personal entrepreneurial journey, as well as the entrepreneurship’s impact on their emotional and economic empowerment. Under the quantitative approach, an online survey asked respondents to rate the importance of several factors on the profitability of their business venture. The results of this research study have established that the creation of MSME enterprises results in a statistically significant increase in Indian women’s financial independence and social empowerment. While the 95% entrepreneurs aspire to upscale their business ventures, they are being held back by a lack of access to mentorship from experienced entre- preneurs and financial support. Qualitative analysis evidenced the ability of entrepreneurship to socially empower Indian women, through the formation of a professional identity, as well as newfound economic self-sufficiency. These findings imply that entrepreneurship is a tool that can be leveraged by government and non-profit organizations in order to radically increase Indian women’s financial independence and economic participation, leading to an increase in social empowerment as well. INTRODUCTION Gender inequality is a pervasive global issue that influences every aspect of international development, stunting a range of sectors including health, education, economics, and politics. This issue is even more critical to address in India: a nation that currently sports a dismal ranking in the Global Gender Gap Index 2021: ranked 140/156 countries on economic, political, education and health-based criteria. With a significant backslide of 20 positions in 2021 itself, it is also clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has only slowed the progress India was making towards gender parity (WEF, 2021). It is crucial to remedy this issue, as “gender equality is intrinsically linked to sustainable development and is vital to the realization of human rights for all.” (UNFPA, 2005) To create a meaningful social transformation, activists, researchers, and policymakers must have a clear un- derstanding on what defines an empowered woman. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UN, 2015) an empowered woman has a sense of self-worth. She has control over her own life, both within and outside the home and she has the ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just social and economic order, both Volume 11 Issue 3 (2022) ISSN: 2167-1907 www.JSR.org 1