ABSTRACT
Introduction In 1997, as part of my research on female entrepreneurs, I met with different governmental and non-governmental officials. In one unforgettable meeting with the then director of the governmentally funded agency supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), I expressed my interest in studying female entrepreneurs. The director flatly responded that I would have nothing to study since there were no female entrepreneurs in Lithuania. In 2004, I doubt if anyone would share that view. Female entrepreneurs have become more visible and there are now even governmentally sponsored programmes developed to assist them. Although more still needs to be done, some positive steps have been made in the right direction. However, female traders in informal markets are still a blind spot. In general, informal market traders seem to occupy a vague unnamed category, though the majority of them hold official business licenses and as such are officially considered SMEs.1 But in terms of support or information programmes, business license holders are a neglected group. One of the main aims of this chapter is to provide a further understanding and insight into this category of female SMEs. The other aim of this chapter is to provide an introduction to the situation for women in Lithuania in general and specific information on SME owners.
