The reality for women entrepreneurs in Hungary: barely any female leaders in SME

Uzletresz.hu reports that on an average 31% of the companies in Hungary have women leaders or have women with authority to sign in the name of the company. This is not a bad ratio compared to other countries on the continent or even worldwide.

Of course, we still need more women lawmakers, since they account for merely 10 percent of Hungarian MPs today, but at first glance, it looks like we are doing good in the business sector.

However, if we are looking at the different types of companies, the numbers change drastically. Statistics show that women are more likely to be in a leadership position at larger enterprises and micro-firms. In small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), where the income reaches at least 50 million Ft (156,000 euros), the number of women leaders is much lower. At these companies, 82% of the leaders are men.

Major industries might have a larger number of women leaders because there are some sectors where women are over-represented, for example in banks, insurance companies, accounting firms.

Micro-firms are run by women mainly because they want a place with flexible schedule and more time to spend with their children.

It is interesting to note that according to a survey done by Cox Business, free time is not the main reason why women start their own companies. It is much more common that they just do not want to work for someone else, to report to a boss. Another reason is that they want more control over their life and a chance to work in an area they are passionate about. Although men’s reasons for starting their own companies are probably pretty similar.