Report: Almost 805,000 Romanian women directly engaged in businesses

Almost 620,000 women are shareholders or associates in companies active in Romania, 12% more than in 2020 and 43% more than in 2015, shows a KeysFin survey based on Trade Register data."This figure accounts for 36% of the total shareholders and associates in Romania, and if we add the holders of sole proprietorship/individual enterprises/family enterprises, we get to approximately 805,000 women directly involved in business," said KeysFin economic analyst Diana Florescu cited in the release.According to the report released on the occasion of the 2025 Women's Day, and considering only the companies that reported their results to the Finance Ministry in 2023, approximately 341 local companies (37% of the total) are majority-controlled by women (at least 50% of the capital). These companies had a turnover of RON 342 billion (the equivalent of almost EUR 70 billion), approximately 13% of the total in 2023.Businesses with Romanian women as majority shareholders or associates have on average three employees, an average net revenue of RON 104,000 and a turnover of over RON one million; in 2023, 95% of these were micro-enterprises.Romanian women controlled in 2023 98.3% of local companies with female shareholders, being followed by investors from China, Italy, Germany and the Republic of Moldova, with shares between 0.3 and 0.1% of the total. Overall, women from over 100 countries act as shareholders or direct majority associates in the Romanian business landscape, the experts show.By activity sector numbers, Romanian women operate as majority shareholders or associates (at least 50%) in trade (99,000), professional activities (46,000) and manufacturing (28,000), reveals Finance Ministry data. Expressed as a share of the total number of companies, the 2023 ranking is as follows: health & social assistance (63% of the total), education (58%), hotels & restaurants (57%).By cumulative turnover, women-run businesses hold the bulk in trade (RON 147 billion), manufacturing (RON 42 billion) and construction (RON 40 billion). As a share of total turnover, the order is: education (47% of total), health & social assistance (39%), and hotels & restaurants (32%) in 2023.In the 5 years to 2023, the average local gross salary has increased 45% to RON 7,233, according to the latest data broken down by the National Institute of Statistics. Thus, the gender gap impacting the average gross salary increased from 2.4% in 2019 to 5.5% in 2023.Romanian women recorded the highest gross incomes in IT&C, where the average was RON 12,197; energy & gas - with women earning an average of RON 12,046; and the extractive industry, with RON 11,400 gross per month in 2023. On the other hand, women working in Romania's hotels & restaurants have the lowest incomes, with an average monthly salary of RON 4,075 in 2023.According to the report, there are however certain fields in Romania where women are better paid than men, and the top spots are in administrative & support services, where women earn 17% more, collecting on average RON 6,214 gross monthly, the extractive industry (16.7% more), construction (however, in the case of this sector the number of female employees is 6 times lower than men, respectively 53,000 nationwide), public administration (7% more), or energy & gas (+3%) in 2023.At the opposite end, the largest wage gap recorded in 2023 is in financial intermediation and in the manufacturing industry, sectors where men earn on average 25% and 20% more than women, respectively.Romania has the third lowest gender wage gap in the European Union."There are not many charts that favorably place Romania in the European Union, but in 2022, according to the latest Eurostat data, we recorded the third smallest gender pay gap, of only 4.5%, placing Romania immediately below the leader in the standard of living (measured by the minimum wage) - Luxembourg, which recorded a negative pay gap of -0.2% for the second time in history. This means that Luxembourg women employed in industry, services and construction (public administration, defense and social security are excluded) were on average better paid than men, according to Eurostat data," Diana Florescu added.On the other hand, economically more developed states such as Estonia, Austria or the Czech Republic have significant differences between men's and women's salaries, ranging between 18% and 21%.