Participation of Women in Institutionally Sponsored Entrepreneurship Programs in Serbia: Some Statistical Facts

Abstract

The analysis of female entrepreneurship in Serbia is the main topic of this paper. The analysis of entrepreneurship takes into account the underrepresentation of women in the self-employed population. Studies analyzing entrepreneurial intention, self-efficacy, and self-perceived employability similarly show a lower representation of women choosing the professional path of entrepreneurs. Studies on institutional support for women who participate in entrepreneurship programs are rare. Therefore, determining how participation in institutionally sponsored active labor market policy programs influences the growth of female entrepreneurship in Serbia is the purpose of this paper. According to the results of this research, Serbia has a substantial gender difference in self-employment. Less than one third of business owners are women. Women made up almost half of those taking part in entrepreneurship training. In 2021 and 2022, they received more than half of all subsidies for entrepreneurs. However, these findings do not affect significantly the trend of self-employment in Serbia.