Women face a series of difficulties when they start or develop businesses. They invoke the fact that they do not have enough time for business owing to domestic responsibilities, that they meet with difficulties in accessing funds and raising loans and that men’s entrepreneurship prevails in the country. The issue was developed in a roundtable meeting staged by the National Institute for Economic Research of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, IPN reports.
Elena Aculai, senior scientific researcher of the Institute, said a number of priorities were set, including the need to improve the women’s access to different sources of financing, education and consultancy. The access to training is to improve the women’s access to different funds. Another mentioned priority is related to the legal framework, which should generally refer to entrepreneurship in general, but should also contain specific provisions, with measures to support businesswomen.
Another underlined necessity is to consolidate the businesswomen because the business is generally dispersed, mainly the women’s one. The consolidation and cooperation of businesswomen within a platform would facilitate dialogue with the public authorities. The women’s activism in society should also be stimulated as it is known that today the women, owing to the multiple domestic responsibilities, do not have enough time for developing businesses. This fact prevents them from becoming financially independent.
Attending the event, head of the Artemida Businesswomen’s Club Stalina Costetski said that when a woman starts a business, she never gives up her family obligations and is thus automatically put in unequal conditions with the man. Usually, the women who start business choose less popular niches and thus need training. As regards entrepreneurship in general, the working conditions are now different compared with seven years ago. The pressure exerted on the businesspeople is now lesser and this made the business entities to mobilize, to want to work and to contribute to the economic development of the state.
Natalia Jelescu, who intends to start a business, spoke about the difficulties she faces. In this connection, the woman said advantageous lending programs are needed as well as consultancy services provided by the state as those offered by the private sector are very costly.
Of the total number of working women, 75% are employees of institutions and enterprises and do not hold executive posts, while their salary is by over 12% lower than that of men. Under the strategy for developing the SMEs for 2012-2020, about 350 new companies managed by women are to be founded until 2020.
