An Enterprising Sex Women are owners of more than a million small and medium-sized firms in Poland. During the past five years their share in business increased more than twofold - from 4.5 to 10.5 percent. Experts say that the reason why women are opening their own businesses are changes on the labour market as a consequence of the closing down of many unprofitable enterprises that were unable to face up to the competition. Unemployment affected more women than men.
Women are often more poorly paid and are promoted more slowly than men are.
Ever more women are reaching the conclusion that the best way of getting out of this situation is to go to work for themselves. Such female owners today constitute more than 40 percent of women business owners. The second rather large group are young women aged 30 to 35, unmarried and with no children. A large number of women are also engaged in consulting, training, translations and designing. The women declare various reasons for establishing their own firms.