ENTREPRENEURIAL CHALLENGES FOR WOMEN IN THE EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES.

In recent decades, countries have increasingly recognized the benefits of female entrepreneurship and therefore strengthening women's entrepreneurship becomes part of their long-term strategies. However, despite all efforts, the gap between male and female entrepreneurship still exists. This paper delves into an investigation of the barriers encountered by women entrepreneurs in the European Union (EU) countries. Through a thorough examination of existing literature and empirical analysis, the paper aims to provide an understanding of the obstacles that women entrepreneurs face within the EU context and the policies that have been adopted in response to those barriers. In the empirical analysis this paper investigates the relationship between gender equality and female entrepreneurship. Examining data from 2019 to 2022, we use the Gender Equality Index as a measure for gender equality and the percentage of self-employed women aged 15-64 as an indicator for female entrepreneurship. Contrary to expectations, our empirical analysis reveals not very strong but negative correlation between the Gender Equality Index and female entrepreneurs in EU countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]