A STUDY ON ROLE OF WOMEN IN DIRECT SELLING WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO COIMBATORE DISTRICT

Abstract

The traditional gender role expectations and attitudes in a developing nation like India, women are coming up in a big way. Enabling women to help themselves through direct selling enterprises raises their sense of self-worth and has social, economic and community benefits. One is that the expertise and experience are usually perpetuated and passed on to others making them successful as well. Women entrepreneurs in the earlier years after independence and up to 1970s were confined to entrepreneurship in traditional areas like food processing, preservation, embroidery, knitting and stitching. However, later in the 1980s subsequently women have branched out to several nontraditional areas like engineering, consultancy, advertising, nursery education, beauty parlors, health clinics, boutiques, fine arts and latest being direct selling enterprises. In the modern scenario with rising aspirations of people and increasing prices, direct selling is a good career opportunity for women as compared to other jobs. It can be self-employment training for the poor women and entrepreneurship to those who are educated, skilled and more resourceful. Most of the women entrepreneurs are engaged in direct selling companies like Avon, oriflamme, Tupperware etc. Their investment is less than Rs.2000 so they will earn profits in a short period of time and increase their living standard.