Chapter 11: Female Entrepreneurship in Post Soviet Countries

The process of transformation toward market economies deprived a majority of women in the former Soviet states of their paid jobs, as well as most of the social securities provided under socialism. In this context, female entrepreneurship is important not only as a solution to growing unemployment but also in order to take advantage of the potential contribution of women entrepreneurs to economic and social transition. The paper is based on an ongoing collaborative research project dealing with female entrepreneurship in the Ukraine, Moldova and Uzbekistan, all represent economies where entrepreneurship in all sections of society is at a relatively low level. The first part of the paper introduces an institutional theory-based viewpoint to analyze female entrepreneurship in transition countries. This is followed by a presentation of results from the literature-based review, supplemented with preliminary survey evidence concerning the nature of female entrepreneurship in these countries. The paper concludes with a discussion of the distinctive contexts and roles of female entrepreneurs in post socialist countries, relating this to the Soviet legacy.