Women's entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia, determinants and potential for development

Žensko poduzetništvo igra važnu ulogu na globalnoj razini u vidu faktora ekonomskog rasta. U svim državama svijeta broj žena poduzetnica manji od broja muškaraca u poduzetništvu. U Republici Hrvatskoj, glavne prijetnje razvoju ženskog poduzetništva nalaze se u postojećim tradicionalnim pogledima na ulogu žena u društvu, nemogućnosti brzih promjena u društvu i prihvaćanje žena kao ravnopravnih subjekata u poduzetništvu. Međutim, kada se Republika Hrvatska usporedi s EU prosjekom vide se određene razlike po pitanju razloga ulaska u poduzetničke vode, a razna izvješća navode nisku razinu financijske pismenosti, izvora informiranja, nedostatak poslovnih vještina i ograničen pristup financijskim izvorima kada pokrenu svoj poslovni pothvat. Shodno navedenome, kao problem istraživanja postavlja se, još uvijek, visok postotak poduzeća čiji su vlasnici muškarci, naspram ženskih vlasnica, uzevši u obzir ustavno zagarantiranu rodnu jednakost. Cilj rada odnosi se na analizu stanja ženskog poduzetništva u Republici Hrvatskoj, usporedivši ga s europskim te saznavanje prepreka i problema s kojima se žene poduzetnice susreću pri realizaciji svojih poduzetničkih nauma, ali i njihovu upoznatost s raznim programima pomoći koji im se nude. Anketno istraživanje je obuhvatilo 64 ispitanice te se pokazalo kako hrvatske poduzetnice najviše motivira osjećaj zadovoljstva bavljenjem poduzetništvom, odnosno osobnog uspjeha, ali i da ih karakterizira nedostatak dovoljne razine financijske pismenosti, izvora informiranja, nedostatak poslovnih vještina i ograničen pristup financijskim izvorima kada pokrenu svoj poslovni pothvat.Women's entrepreneurship plays an important role globally in terms of economic growth factors. In all countries of the world, the number of women entrepreneurs is less than the number of men in entrepreneurship. In the Republic of Croatia, the main threats to the development of women's entrepreneurship are in the existing traditional views on the role of women in society, the impossibility of rapid change in society and the acceptance of women as equal subjects in entrepreneurship. However, when compared to the EU average, the Republic of Croatia shows some differences in the reasons for entering entrepreneurial waters, with various reports citing low levels of financial literacy, sources of information, lack of business skills and limited access to financial resources when starting a business. Accordingly, the problem of research is still a high percentage of companies owned by men, as opposed to women, taking into account the constitutionally guaranteed gender equality. The aim of the paper is to analyze the state of women's entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia, comparing it with European and finding out the obstacles and problems that women entrepreneurs face in realizing their entrepreneurial intentions, but also their familiarity with various assistance programs offered. The survey included 64 respondents and showed that Croatian entrepreneurs are most motivated by a sense of satisfaction with entrepreneurship, or personal success, but also that they are characterized by a lack of sufficient financial literacy, information sources, lack of business skills and limited access to financial resources when starting their business