In March 2018, the World Bank in BiH presented the results of their survey “Collecting evidence of inclusive growth and jobs generated in the Western Balkans: Gender prism”, discussing employment opportunities for women.
The focus was on women’s entrepreneurship. It was concluded that women in BiH face numerous obstacles on the labor market and in entrepreneurship, which is a significant economic loss for the country.
The presentation included detailed data on women’s access to funds for launching a business, based on a sample of 542 businesses surveyed between 2016 and 2017. It was noted that micro, small and medium-sized businesses run by women play a crucial role in generating jobs, while encouraging women’s participation in the economy and strengthening the inclusive growth of GDP. In BiH, women-led business are focused in low productivity sector, and smaller on average than businesses run by men.
One of the key obstacles to women’s entrepreneurship is the perception that entrepreneurship is a “man’s” activity. Women-run businesses face more obstacles in terms of access to funds. Their businesses have a harder time increasing profitability, seizing opportunities and accessing information and advice.
The event was attended by representatives of the Institute for Youth Development KULT.
More details on this research are available here: www.worldbank.org/en/events/2018/03/13/gender-in-thewestern-balkans
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