Women Leaders Making the Best of a Crisis Stricken Market

By: Emmanuel Christi Das

In recent months the COVID-19 Pandemic has wreaked havoc on humankind, infecting millions of people in the process. The Coronavirus outbreak has put the global economy on a standstill, governments confused, and above all, the Pandemic has unraveled deeper existing cracks in our social and economic systems. Business entrepreneurs are one of the populations that have been severely affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME'S) are the worst hit. Women-led enterprises are not an exception as economic slowdowns, and Pandemic induced shutdowns have hit them hard as well.

Due to millions of years of biological evolution, women are hard-wired to lead better in times of crisis. Women leaders across the globe have come to the spotlight due to their skillful handling of the COVID-19 situation. There is no women leader right now whose popularity can match that of the current New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Her focus was not only to contain the spread of the virus but to keep the economy running and keep the morale of the citizens high above all. Her empathetic approach is not only resonating with the New Zealanders but also has put the nation back on track.

The decisions ultimately resulted in New Zealand becoming the first country to report no new Coronavirus cases in a single day. Although the second wave in New Zealand has been said, the country is faring incredibly well compared to other nations. One of her innovative approaches was to frequently make use of Facebook live chats that managed to be informal and informative at the same time.  Similarly, Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who also happens to be the world's youngest leader at the age of 35, imposed a very early lockdown in her country to curb the spread of the virus. As a result, Finland has seen the least deaths per million globally.

 Yet another positive utilization of the pandemic situation has been exhibited by digital health company Kliit ­ - originally a health company focused on increasing sexual and reproductive health services for young multicultural women. Founded by Crystal Evuleocha – a young woman entrepreneur based in Los Angeles. In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak she has started telecommunication consultation for women. Her organization is providing medical consultancy, diagnosis and prescriptions through the Kliit app.

In the local business front, many women entrepreneurs have pulled up their socks instead of fretting over the situation. Some have even sensed opportunity during the ongoing COVID crisis. For instance, Shalini Singh, the founder of Bengaluru based match-making platform Andwemet.com says that the Pandemic or lockdown has not affected her overall strategy. "Our team works remotely, in any case, and salaries continue to be my main expense. On the contrary, there is more interest in match-making now with singles having more time on their hands at home. Our visitors are going up 400 percent week on week," says the 40-year-old entrepreneur.

Likewise, Pooja Cariappa the owner of online yoga training course portal based in Mumbai named Yoga Studio was doing 2 to 4 hours of yoga classes every day before the Pandemic struck. She had to shut down her classes eventually. However, it never de-motivated her as she decided to shift her yoga classes over Zoom with a little help of her husband. Pooja offered few free sessions in the beginning and now the entrepreneur that believes in the magic of yoga is getting clients from all over the world. "I now plan to continue this model even after the lockdown." Says the 42-year-old entrepreneur.

 The Pandemic has changed our lifestyle once and for all, where maintaining social distancing and proper hygiene has become the new normal, perhaps it will also act as a force to do away with years of stigma associated with gender roles.