Biases and barriers: A conversation with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

In 1978, at the age of 25, with ₹10,000 (approximately $130) in her bank account, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw founded Biocon from her rented garage in Bengaluru.

She is now India’s richest self-made woman and the Chairperson of Asia’s largest biopharmaceuticals enterprise. Her journey is truly awe-inspiring.

At last week’s India Global Forum, Kiran reflected on the credibility issues she faced as she tried to raise early-stage capital. We discussed the biases that Kiran faced as a young founder and many of the same barriers that continue to face women entrepreneurs today.

“I was trying to do something which they thought was too daunting for a young girl to take on… starting a bio-tech business which they themselves couldn’t understand.”

She recalls meetings with male executives where she would argue that “you accept personal guarantees from every other founder or entrepreneur. Why not me? Is it because I’m a woman?”

Kiran describes three barriers facing women entreprenuers today:

💰 Access to capital
💼 Access to talent
💻 Access to technology

At the root of this, she argues that women entrepreneurs face lines of questioning that male entrepreneurs will never experience.

Whilst men face scrutiny about their business proposals and professional acumen, women all-to-often face scrutiny about their intentions to get married or aspirations to have children.

“Women have to be asked questions about their business, not about their gender related issues. That’s where we start this whole gender inequity.”

“You accept personal guarantees from every other founder or entrepreneur. Why not me? Is it because I’m a woman?”