OLENA Shulha. 30. is the director of one of the most prestigious private cosmetic medicine clinics in Kiev.

"I am a dentist by training and never thought that I would become involved in business." Shulha says.

"My English husband gave me the Idea He always stressed that if our relationship did not work out. I should have my own business, financial independence. Among other things, he financed the project at the first stage. I found the premises, ex perts. created a company, registered it as a Joint Ukrainian-English enterprise, and we started our work.

After four months, the costs spent In creating the clinic had been recovered." She goes on to add. The project was unusually profitable, and 1 could have bit by bit begun to pay back the debts to my investor if it were not for the necessity of expanding and purchasing new equipment. considerable duties on Imports ... and still one more thing -- racket. Yes. I had a meeting with local mafia who. having found out that we began to make a bit of money, came to skim the cream.’ And that’s where all our profit went."

Few are involved in conducting well-grounded research on women's business in Ukraine. Experts are not inclined to divide entrepreneurs, bankers, and managers by gender, recognising that both men and women, for the time being, are forced to build their business in the tough economic conditions of the transition period.

Most people starting up businesses, both men and women, tend to borrow money from friends rather than take credit from banks.

Social and economic analysts say this trend is the result of the harsh credit policy of Ukrainian financial institutes, with their high interest rates, unwillingness to give long-term credit, and poor terms of repayment.

But reality demonstrates that women's business In

Ukraine does indeed have its particularities. What follows are the arguments put forth by the academics at the Lviv Institute of Management (L1M). incidentally one of the first educational institutions in Ukraine, that proposed creating special centres to support women's business.

"According to statistical data. 70 percent of the unemployed are women." states one of the employees at LiM, Uud-myla Kyzolych. "The reason for this Is not the low level of education; women make up 55.2 percent of students In higher education institutions. So there's no lack of initiative. Also, according to the analysis conducted. 60 percent of the participants in training and retraining courses are women. In addition, the percentage of women students enrolled in the Master's of Business Administration (MBA) Programme in the six years of Li M's existence has grown from 20 percent to 50 percent."

Moreover, according to analysts. Ukrainian women can be characterised by a developed sense of responsibility, seriousness and a well grounded approach to organising their own business.

They also take their education concerning their future profession very seriously.

Among the women directors of commercial medical establishments. over 90 percent are professional doctors. Women directors of legal firms are lawyers by training. Women bankers most often have a background in either finance or economics as well as impressive work records in their field In contrast to men bankers, more than half of who were formerly employed in the Party

or the Young Communist League and have a degree in engineering or education.

The division of business into "women's" and "men's" sectors Is noticeable.

Women's business are generally centered on private educational Institutions for preschool children, medical and other services (hair-dressing. cosmetic salons, tutoring services etc.). In trade and the sale of food products, the involvement of women and men is about equal.

Alongside this, there is the "shuttle" business - the business of buying and re-selling goods with a rather narrow profit margin. It is largely women who take to such work as either a secondary or a distress means to provide for their families. The profit — the difference between the prices minus the transport costs and payment to local mafia groups -- is marginal, and for that reason virtually all individuals involved in this business hide their income from official taxation.

The "shuttle" business is born of specific political, economic and social factors of the transition period (unemployment, wage arrears etc.) and. according to experts, is a temporary affair. This, and the fact that it is part of the "shadow economy", makes it difficult to research.

Estimates of today's reality are. however, that between 40 percent and 50 percent of the Ukrainian economy falls outside of the control of the state. This would safely lead to the conclusion that a significant portion of women in business are operating in the shadow economy.

The activities of some Amer-

lean firms in Ukraine can also be classified as half-legal. "Mary Kay", "Herbal Life," and "New Ways" Import their products into CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries through Moscow, and distribute them through a network of small private consultants and not through official trade or pharmaceutical services.

The tax control on the activities of these firms is complicated because of the fact that their consultants (the majority of whom are women in the home) conduct business out of their private homes. These women feel that such work has several advantages. First, by being based at home, they can simultaneously work and attend to children and family responsibilities; second. It allows them to avoid unpleasant confrontations with mafia groups and tax inspectors: and third, they earn decent money. Understandably, official statistics concerning these activities do not exist.

Academics from the Lviv Institute of Management are proposing to create a women's business centre as a first step towards strengthening women's role in economic life.

'The main task of such a centre will be to conduct psychological training to help women overcome mental barriers and define those professional abilities most natural and effective for development." explains Liudmyla Kyzmych. a doctoral student at the institute.

"And only at the next stage, will the centre refer women to training programmes on management. marketing, accounting. information systems, etc. "

Experts are convinced that concrete obstacles to the appearance of women's initiatives undoubtedly exist, but that women must start from their own positive personal qualities.

But how exactly? By thinking: "I am - therefore there will be business."

And that’s the way it should be.

— WFS/News Network