The survey, carried out in a community of over 15,000 female entrepreneurs, highlights the main challenges and difficulties experienced by Romanian women in the business environment. Thus, only 4% of female entrepreneurs find it easier in business because they are women, and 46% say they don't feel any difference.

"Entrepreneurship is seen as a men's field because it is a continuous competition in business. And men are built to have a greater appetite for risk and to always be in competition. But more and more women want to be financially independent, build a business, change the way they do business and contribute to the family's well-being. Our study reveals that entrepreneurship is still gendered, but it is gendered around the world. International statistics show that approximately 25% of small and medium-sized businesses worldwide are run by women. In Romania, around 36% of businesses are owned by women and it is increasing every year. Therefore, we will see more and more Romanian women in business, and through our association we encourage them in this regard and support, through a process of education and change of mentality, more and more women in the country to get rid of mental barriers and to and follow the dream of being an entrepreneur," declares Carmen Mihalca, founder of Asociația Antreprenoare, with over 15,000 female entrepreneurs.

What challenges do women entrepreneurs have in business?

Female entrepreneurs in Romania face a series of challenges in business, the main one being the fact that they have to prove more just because they are women, answered almost 42% of them. Next, almost 17% state that they feel that it is more difficult to negotiate, respectively that it is more difficult to obtain earnings even though they work a lot, just because they are women. At the same time, according to the survey carried out by Asociația Antreprenoare, almost 13% believe that there is manipulation or disregard from men in business partnerships, and over 8% believe that women have more challenges to solve in business because, in addition to the business, they have other responsibilities, especially the fact that they dedicate themselves more to children, and that they make more difficult decisions and take less risks in business.

"Women are not taken seriously when they say they want their own business. And we see this very often in social media discussions and comments.  It is quite a challenge to change this mindset. And from here comes the challenge of being able to recognize one's merits and enjoy one's achievements, to manage to create a balance between work and family life, to overcome one's fear of failure and, why not, to support a pitch that will bring them funding," points out Carmen Mihalca, the founder of Asociația Antreprenoare.

What helps women in business

More than 50% of the respondents to the survey have between 2 and 10 years of entrepreneurship, almost 30% have more than 10 years in business, and 21% have less than 2 years in business. Most women, over 83%, have companies in humanistic fields, and the rest in a technical field.

Women believe that certain native skills help them in business, namely communication skills, intuition and empathy for 60% of them, respectively discipline, perseverance and analytical ability for 40% of them.

When asked how favorable the fiscal and business environment is for women in Romania, over 33% of them answered that it is an average level, and 25% that it is a little favorable, respectively 25% encouraging. More than 8% claim that the fiscal and business environment is not at all favorable and discouraging for women entrepreneurs.

Founded in 2018, the Entrepreneurial Community aims to change the mentality and prejudices regarding the role of women in society and to encourage and support women to follow their dream of being entrepreneurs and to prove that they can make a significant contribution to the Romanian business environment. Currently, there are more than 15,000 women entrepreneurs in the Entrepreneurial community with businesses in various fields in several cities in the country and in the diaspora.

The Entrepreneurial Community on Facebook complements the activity of the antreprenoare.ro platform, which is a tool for connecting, getting to know and promoting its members, the projects carried out in the community and, from 2024, supporting the entire activity of the Entrepreneurial Association.