Statistics portray business leaders

  • 1998-08-20
  • By Rokas M. Tracevskis
VILNIUS - The Lithuanian Department of Statistics found out that men dominate the Lithuanian business scene, but women are catching up.

The Department of Statistics conducted a survey to find out who make up the business bosses in Lithuanian enterprises established after the country regained its independence.

Ona Grigiene, head of the economic surveys' section at the Department of Statistics, said this survey took information from parts of surveys in all Central and Eastern European countries.

"A gender and education portrait of new heads of enterprises is just part of our survey which analyzes all spheres of business of new enterprises," Grigiene said.

The department has just finished analyzing the results of the survey that shows that only 29 percent of leaders in more than a quarter of Lithuanian newly established enterprises are female.

According to the survey, 12.5 percent of new businesswomen are quite young, only 21-30 years old; 32.9 percent are 31-40 years old and 38.2 percent are 41-50 years old.

The researchers found that 72.7 percent of men heading companies are 31-50 years old. Women heading enterprises are better educated than males - 35 percent of women have high education compared to 33 percent of men.

Most women (35 percent) who now serve as bosses in their company were working as office-employees, and 22 percent were saleswomen before they became company leaders.

Most men (26 percent) were technicians in their previous position, and only 22 percent were office employees. Eight percent of females and 6 percent of males had no job experience before becoming a boss.

Hotel and restaurant business is dominated by females. Sixty percent of the heads of hotels and restaurants are females. Fifty percent of financial business is headed by females.

Women also lead in the newspaper and magazine business - 57 percent of publications are headed by women.

Males dominate transport business (92 percent), building industries (91 percent), real estate business (75 percent), trade (69 percent) and agriculture enterprises (67 percent).