Enlargement, Gender and Governance (EGG)
EU Framework 5, Project No: HPSE-CT-2002-00115
Work Package 1 (Executive Summary): SLOVENIA
By Eva Bahovec, University of Ljubljana
Before the transition to a new system in Slovenia, the main factors - like most socialist countries - were a centrally planned economy that demanded the engagement of the entire workforce, including women; an emphasis on gender equality was one of the fundamental principles of state policy.
The Constitution of the People's Republic of Yugoslavia from January 1946 gave women equal rights to work and payment, equal right to leave of absence, social security and education. The interests of mothers and children were protected by the state with paid maternity leave and through a network of maternity hospitals, nurseries and kindergartens. The 1977 Medical Act is still considered one of the most advanced constitutional rights in the world. The newly implemented liberal legislation on contraception and abortion introduced modern methods, measures and means of birth control: contraception, sterilisation, abortion, as well as methods for the medical treatment of infertility, including artificial insemination.
After the transition Slovenia encountered unknown problems and situations. A state that had known unemployment of around 2% found itself in a situation where registered unemployment was high as 15%. The growth in unemployment was the consequence of the fall in demand for workers and an increase in supply. It is interesting that in the first six years the number of employed women fell more slowly than the number of employed persons. Initially the changes affected men and women to an equal extent.
The position of women in Slovenia in the sphere of employment did not worsen in the first phase of the transition, and the proportion of women among the unemployed did not increase. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case and in recent years the share of women among registered unemployed has been growing slowly but surely.
The rate of labour activity has been increasing since 1993 among both men and women. In 1998 it was 49% for women and 61.6% for men. Women of all groups in Slovenia are active to almost the same extent as men. Major differences between the activeness of women and men only appear after the age of 50, which is the consequence of the different retirement conditions applying to women and men. Women in Slovenia, like men, generally work full time. According to figures from 1998 only 8.8% of women in active employment work reduced hours, though in recent years a slight increase in this share has been observed among both men and women.
According to figures on labour activity, women and men are almost equally represented on the labour market. This numerically almost equal distribution however no longer appears in the majority of activities or at different hierarchical levels. The result of the horizontal and vertical segregation, with which women are faced on the labour market, is that more than half of all women in active employment work in the service sector. They predominate above all in the areas of health and social security, education, financial management and commerce.
Since women dominate in service activities it is understandable that they also dominate among those professional groups that dominate in these activities. Thus the share of women is highest among the profession groups of clerks, sales persons, technicians, and lowest in professions for non-industrial work, legislators, senior officials and managers. This distributions of women and men by profession groups reflects the existence of vertical segregation, where women despite possessing the same or even higher qualifications as men, are significantly worse represented in the most influential and demanding jobs. There are few women in demanding and most influential (and thus well paid) jobs in Slovenia, and as a consequence their salaries are on average lower then men's at the same level of training.
The factor that further influences the lower average salary of women is their employment in activities that are more poorly paid. Figures on gross wages of employees in companies and organisations by levels of professional training show that women on average earn 11.10% less than men. The highest difference is among qualified personnel (18.98%) and the lowest among highly qualified personnel (6.37%). If we compare these figures with those from the initial period of the transition (1991), we see that the difference in average wage between women and men has not changed significantly.
This does not hold for individual levels of professional training. The average salary of women in comparison to the average salary of men at certain levels of professional training increased, to the largest extent among qualified personnel (5.26%) and holders of doctorates (4.71%), while it fell among personnel with low professional training (1.47%) and all personnel with high professional training (0.72%).
The employment legislation after 1991 (after Slovenia became an independent country) includes maternity leave of 365 days. The last 260 days can be used in the form of a half-time employment up to the child's seventeenth month. During the time of maternity leave, the salary amounts to 100% of the average monthly salary during last 12 months prior to the leave. Although after the first three months the rest of the maternity leave can be divided between the child’s mother and father, this opportunity is used only in about 3% of the cases.
In recent years the registered unemployment of women has increased. This indicates a worsening of their position. It is most probable that the discriminatory behaviour of employers is connected to this, particularly where it involves younger women as potential mothers or mothers with young children.
Women in the Slovenian labour market retained a high level of employment during the transition. However, the traditional model of employment that reflects their unequal position did not change. Women tend to be concentrated in certain sectors and professions – they are mainly employed in the service sector, especially in those areas that are related to the traditional understanding of women's role such as care and education. Given these circumstances significant changes have not occurred during the transition period: there has merely been a slight increase in the proportion of woman in already 'typically female' professions.