Barriers to Women Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Analysis between South Korea and Romania

Even in the twenty-first century, women entrepreneurs from all over the world continue to encounter different types of barriers in their activity. Depending on their location, history, culture, etc. the restraints can be more or less strict, distinct or similar. This article analyses and compares the constraints that the women entrepreneurs from South Korea and Romania are encountering, barriers concerning the professional stereotypes such as smaller medium wages for women, difficulties in getting specific jobs, the traditional collective mentality and prejudices, the roles of women in society, the balance between professional and family/private life, as well as the maternity and child care systems. The analysis is based on the data provided by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, OECD and the World Bank, the legislations of the two countries and the literature related to the two social environments. The findings indicate that although there are many similarities between the two countries, such as smaller salaries for women, discrimination against women, difficulty to advance, conservative attitudes towards women, lack of ways to monitor and penalize discrimination, lack of successful women entrepreneurs, the number of women entrepreneurs in South Korea is significantly smaller than the number of Romanian ones. This is due to the South Korean stricter social environment, harsher work environment (with shorter holidays, longer working hours, obligatory group activities and stricter hierarchy), higher gender wage gap and poorer maternity and childcare legislation.¹