Possibilities for Development of Female Entrepreneurship in the Rural Areas

Munitlak Ivanović, Olja (2016) Possibilities for Development of Female Entrepreneurship in the Rural Areas. Journal of Women's Entrepreneurship and Education (1-2). pp. 79-96. ISSN 1821-1283

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse the status of women in the rural areas of Serbia. From 2007 to 2013 several surveys and other studies have been carried out. Unfortunately, these studies made by different authors and/or donors lead to almost the same conclusion that the status of women in rural areas of Serbia is very unsatisfactory. Having in mind that the greatest number of farms is located in the Vojvodina region, the emphasis of this paper is on women in this area. The status of women in the society coincides to the position of women in the countryside. Female entrepreneurs are very rare in our society and among all other thing their decision to start a business depends on their level of education and partly on the funds for the realization of entrepreneurial ideas. Women living in the rural areas lack the awareness and the willingness to start an independent business. Although Serbia has signed various international conventions that commit to the gender equality, strategies adopted on the national or regional (Vojvodina) level did not experience embodiment in the practice. Definitely, this affects the reluctance of women to engage in entrepreneurial activities and the number of female entrepreneurs has decreased between the two surveys conducted in 2003 and 2007. In order to improve this situation there is a need for various forms of education and training for women, depending on their preferences, age, level of education and other factors. However, there is a small number of women who are willing to engage in entrepreneurship in the rural areas. Potential female entrepreneurs cannot be left to fight the market alone, it is necessary to create business incubators where they will receive help in decision-making and establish special guarantee funds. We used different research methods: desk research, analysis of survey previously conducted on a representative sample of female entrepreneurs and managers and qualitative research. The importance of this paper is reflected in the fact that number of surveys with the same theme of female entrepreneurship performed by various authors and donors in different time periods were analysed and compared and they point out to the altered behaviour of female entrepreneurs and managers. Namely, the female entrepreneurship in Serbia is in a worse position today than it was before 2007.

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