WOMEN IN BUSINESS. THE NEED FOR POLICIES TO FOSTERING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN ROMANIA

Abstract

In developing economies, the issue of overcoming the gaps in public policies regarding gender is closely linked to the ability of governments to identify policies that have worked successfully in regions with similar economic circumstances. Equally, there is a need for innovative data solutions that have the capacity to determine a real change of socio-economic relations. For now, as far as the Romanian context is concerned, female entrepreneurs do not enjoy as much government support as it is really needed. What literature refers to as the "glass ceiling" seems to be doubled in Romania by collective suspicion towards the discrepancy between the ambition and the skills of women who find themselves in the position of decision makers at top management level. This crisis of confidence faced by women makes their management tasks even more difficult. Not incidentally, literature mentions opinions according to which a woman must work twice as hard as a man to reach a certain position. The crisis brought about by the lack of models is confirmed by numerous studies and researches, all highlighting the urgent need for mentoring. Given such gender related constraints, it is only natural to expect that decision makers at government level would show a special interest for policies designed to encourage female entrepreneurship, and, in general, to support increase of employment of women in economic activities.

Keywords

• gender policies, women entrepreneurship, women in business