Analysis: What gender is the Romanian business environment?

• Women, increasingly present in business in Romania
• The business environment, still marked by gender inequality

Does business still have a gender? In Romania, the business environment is still dominated by men and there is still inequality in entrepreneurship based on gender.

However, significant progress is taking place, women being increasingly present in the Romanian business environment either as entrepreneurs or in management positions, show the conclusions of an analysis to which the founders of some IT, HR, interior design, and marketing companies responded.

“Currently, I believe that business has a male gender, especially from the perspective of the fact that there are fewer women in Romania, but also in the world, in leadership positions in organizations. That is why the male leadership style is felt much more. There is still an inequality in entrepreneurship based on gender, which however decreases from year to year”, believes Cătălina Trupșor, founder and CEO of Color Smart Distribution, sole importer and distributor in Romania and the Republic of Moldova of premium and premium plus Novacolor brands , Color Smart and Pittsburgh Paints. The entrepreneur, with 17 years of experience in business, points out that, although the Romanian business environment is still dominated by men, the influence of female leadership is beginning to be felt in organizational cultures, in the development or innovation of new businesses.

Instead, Roxana Epure, the owner of NextUp Solutions, one of the largest Romanian software solutions companies, emphasizes that business has no gender and that the only way for the Romanian entrepreneur, woman, or man, is to professionalize regardless of gender, to -establish its business on sound principles and create a culture of performance.

Women, a force in the country’s economy

“We see more and more women business owners. They are resilient, organized and lead profitable organizations in manufacturing, technology, services, and distribution. They are open to learning, and they are competitive, because until recently it was necessary to demonstrate their capabilities, compared to men. I often see hands-on women, who manage to take care of their businesses and family and be social. It’s admirable to see strong women who constantly choose to do a lot, without complaining, on the contrary, with joy and passion”, says the entrepreneur with over 12 years of experience in entrepreneurship.

And Grațiela Lupu, co-founder of White Image, the first and largest email marketing company in the country, believes that Romanian business no longer has a gender and that women are increasingly present in entrepreneurship. “Women in business are a force in the country’s economy and more and more are occupying top positions or developing their own businesses. In the last 10-20 years, the Romanian business environment has evolved significantly for the better, with many important changes and, thus, more and more women in Romania have chosen to start their own businesses immediately after finishing their studies thanks to the funds allocated for the start-ups and in general of access to financing”, claims the entrepreneur Grațiela Lupu.

At the same time, Elena Georgescu, the founder of True People, a company specialized in headhunting through technology, emphasizes that business still has a gender, but there is progress in reducing the differences between women and men in entrepreneurship. “Both in education and in business, prejudices regarding ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ fields are maintained, even if there is a percentage of exceptions and large companies allocate a number of places for the female presence, including on the board”, declares the entrepreneur.

The assets of women in business

Regarding the innate skills for business, female entrepreneurs point out that there are differences according to gender. Thus, if in their opinion men are more pragmatic, task-oriented, and rational, women have empathy, intuition, and creativity as their main assets, which help them in business management.

“In general, a woman’s leadership style is based more on communication, encouraging expression, and being people-oriented. They relate more easily to others, allocate more time and attention to the people they work with, understand the emotions, fears or insecurities of colleagues more easily”, says Cătălina Trupșor, owner of Color Smart Distribution.

At the same time, Grațiela Lupu, co-founder of White Image, points out that there are certain advantages specific to women, from multitasking skills to better management of stress and pressure, and that women can be strong leaders capable of making good decisions and motivate the team to achieve business objectives.

“Women usually have a higher emotional intelligence, which leads to a pleasant atmosphere in teams, where collaboration and positive motivation are the central focus”, adds Roxana Epure, owner of NextUp Solutions.

In addition, women are persistent, consistent, hardworking, and dedicated, believes Elena Georgescu, owner of TruePeople. “Women have a more nuanced range of experiences that can guarantee them a better understanding of the team and a high tact and emotional intelligence in relationships with others”, concludes the entrepreneur.

Do women support each other?

At the same time, regarding the mutual support between women in business, the entrepreneurs say that there are solid communities dedicated to female entrepreneurship, which contributes to the development of companies and the business environment.

According to them, in recent years more and more communities dedicated to women entrepreneurs have been formed, which offer mentoring programs and organize periodic meetings where women from various fields come together to get to know each other, organize various joint networking activities, understand the challenges, and find solutions together.