METRO International Own Business Study reveals: 67 percent of Romanian women dream of owning a business

The experiences of women owning a business are at the centre of the second part of the “Own Business Study”, an international study commissioned by METRO in ten countries. Romania is one of the participating countries, showing surprising insights. Overall, the study found that, while nearly one in two women (45 percent) dream of starting their own business, only 12 percent believe that they will fulfill this ambition. The second highest percentage is located in Romania, where 67 percent of women dream of owning their own business.

Romanita Oprea

According to the study, women feel they are facing different obstacles when starting a business, among which are lack of financial support (49 percent), the general economic situation in their home country (43 percent), tax burden (29 percent) as well as too much bureaucracy (28 percent) and a lack of advice (16 percent). In Romania, they mostly lack financial support (50 percent) and they are also drawn back by the economic situation in their country (44 percent).

“There are still too many barriers that keep women from fulfilling their business ideas. This comes at a significant cost to the economic development. We hope that the results of this study help bring about a meaningful dialogue with stakeholders in business, society and politics. Understanding the barriers and finding ways to overcome them is very much necessary,” said Heiko Hutmacher, Chief Human Resources Officer at METRO AG.

Many female business owners also face a lot of challenges in their professional lives, such as deeply ingrained stereotypes. More than half (56 percent) of female business owners fear that women can be treated unfairly in business, because others assume they are less knowledgeable and not tough enough. In Romania though, the numbers are below average when it comes to stereotyping – 47 percent of female business owners believe women can be treated unfairly in comparison to men.

Respondents are undecided when asked if they believe it can be harder for women or men to establish a business: 65 percent of all business owners surveyed consider that both women and men can find difficulties establishing and running a business. Almost all others (32 percent), however, agree that it is more difficult for women to establish their own business than it is for men. When it comes to Romania, 18 percent agree that it is more difficult for women to start their own business, and just 1 percent think it is harder for men.

There is, however, widespread consensus with regard to the need for government-run programs to foster female entrepreneurship. 80 percent of those surveyed – men and women – are in favor of government programs that help female entrepreneurs to fulfill their ambition. Along Italy, Romania comes right before Turkey when it comes to this matter. 93 percent of participants at the study think there is a deep need for a government-run program that supports female business ownership. “It is encouraging to see that so many people show support for new initiatives that foster female entrepreneurship. Policy-makers in particular need to take notice and put more focus on fostering female entrepreneurship,” says Heiko Hutmacher.

For the study, which looks at how people around the world think about independent businesses and how owners of independent businesses view their experience, METRO surveyed 10,000 people in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Romania, Turkey, Russia and China. It was published in the framework of METRO’s second Own Business Day, an annual global event held each year on the second Tuesday in October, that provides business owners – male and female – with extra awareness, pays tribute and supports them in building relationships with their customers.