Gender in the Western Balkans:

A Snapshot of Key Issues and Indicators[1]

Gender-related outcomes are heterogeneous across the Western Balkans countries. This sub-region performs reasonably wellin terms of gender equality in endowments(health, demographics and education)when compared to the regional Europe and Central Asia (ECA)[2]average.The key gender challenges, however, are present in second generation issues, particularly in access to economic opportunities. Specifically, gender related gaps across countries are manifested ina highgender labor force participation gap, relatively low female earnings, and a lowshare offemale participation in firm-ownership.

Some of the key country-specific issues (see Annex 2) are:

  • In Albania, thedisparity in gender labor force participation is large andthe gender wage gap is one of the highest in the region. The share of women with firm ownership remains low.
  • InBosnia and Herzegovina,the labor market is affected by a low female labor participation rate and a large gender gap in labor force participation rate. Theshares of firms with women ownership andwomen managersare low.
  • In Serbia, economic opportunities are constrained bya low share of women with firm ownership.
  • InFYRMacedonia and Kosovo,access to economic opportunities via labor markets is limited due to a low female labor participation rate, a largegender gap in labor participation, and the highest unemployment rate in the sub-region for both men and women, with the gender gap being much wider in the latter. In addition, the share of women with firm ownership in Kosovo remains low.

Though there are no wide gaps in average indicators of human capital based on the selected indicators, inequalities may exist at a disaggregated level (for example, by ethnicity or rural/urban sector). Furthermore, this snapshot does not discuss inequalities in voice in depth, an area in which women lag in across the board in the region as well as globally (as indicated, for example, by their low participation in the political arena). Lastly, this snapshot presents only selected indicators and is by no means comprehensive.

Endowments – Education

Primary enrollment rates

Enrollment rates in the region are high. Serbia surpasses the regional average.Albania and Bosniahave below average rates for both girls and boys.
The gender gap in primary enrollment in the Western Balkans countries is low. / School enrollment, primary*, by sex (%, adjusted, net), 2009

Source: WDI. Notes: ECA refers to developing countries only. No data available for Kosovo. *See Annex 1, Section 1 for information on adjusted net primary enrollment rate.

Primary completion rates

Overall, the gender gap in completion rates is small in the Western Balkans. / Primary completion rate, by sex (% of relevant age group), 2009

Source: WDI. Notes: ECA refers to developing countries only. No data available for Kosovo and Bosnia.

Secondary enrollment rates

Gross secondary enrollment rates in Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro are high compared to ECA. Albania has the lowest enrollment rates in the region for both girls and boys.
Gender gaps are low in secondary enrollment rates. / School enrollment, secondary, by sex (% gross), 2009

Source: WDI. Notes: ECA refers to developing countries only. No data available for Kosovo.

Tertiary enrollment rates

Enrollment rates in the sub-region are low,and the gender gap in tertiary education is large compared to that in primary and secondary education.Consistent with the regional average, women have higher enrollment rates than men in all countries. / Tertiary enrollment rates (%, gross), 2009

Source: WDI. Notes: ECA refers to developing countries only. No data available for Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo.
Subject-related gender segregation
Based on the Duncan Index, Serbia and FYR Macedonia have lower levels of subject related segregation in secondary education compared to the regional average. 25 percent of boys in Serbia would have to change their fields of study in order to equalize enrollments across fields for boys and girls. / Duncan Index*, 2007 – 2009 average

Source: WDI, original data is based on national household surveys. No data available for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Kosovo. *The Duncan Index measures the percentage of male students that would have to change field of study to equalize enrollments for boys and girls across the academic fields.

Endowments - Health

Gender gap in life expectancy
The gender gap in life expectancy in the Western Balkans islower than the ECA regional average. It is comparable to that of the high-income OECD countries. / Life expectancy gender gap*, in years, 2009

Source: WDI.No data available for Kosovo. The life expectancy gender gap is defined as the difference in female and male life expectancies. *The life expectancy gender gap is defined as the difference in female and male life expectancies.
Male adult mortality rates
Adult mortality rates, both for males and females, are lower in levels when compared to the ECA region. Male adult mortality rates are below the ECA regional average, but, with the exception of Albania, remain above the OECD average. / Maleadult mortality rates* (ages 15-60), 2009

Source: WDI.No data availabel for Kosovo. Notes: *Adult mortality rate is the probability that those who have reached age 15 will die before reaching age 60.
Maternal mortality rate
In Serbia, Bosnia and FYR Macedonia, maternal mortality is lower than in high-income OECD countries. Albania has the highest maternal mortality rate in the sub-region, closer to that of ECA. / Maternal mortality rate (per 100,000 live births), 2008

Source: WDI. No data available for Kosovo.
Fertility rates
Fertility rates have declined in most countries in the Western Balkans, particularly in Albania and Kosovo, which had the higher initial fertility rates in this period. / Fertility rates (births per woman), 1990-2009

Source: WDI.
Adolescent fertility rates
All of the countries in the Western Balkans have lower adolescent fertility rates than the ECA regional average. / Adolescent fertility rates (births per 1,000 women, 15-19 yrs), 2009

Source: WDI. No data available for Kosovo.

Access to economic opportunities– Labor markets

Females in the labor force
Women represent less than half of the labor force inFYR Macedonia and Albania. FYR Macedonia and Albania have female labor force participation rates below the ECA regional average. / Labor force, female (% of total labor force), 2009

Source: WDI. No data available for Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. Data accessed in June 2012.
Labor force participation rate
Women’s labor force participation rates in countries of the Western Balkans are lower thanin ECA. Male labor force participation rates are comparable to the ECA regional average, with the exception of Bosnia, where the level of male labor force participation is below the ECA regional average. The gender gap in labor force participation is large across the sub-region. / Labor force participation rate, (% population,ages 15 – 64), 2009

Source: WDI. No data available for Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. Data accessed in June 2012.
Changes in labor force participation
Changes in labor force participation have been heterogeneous across countries. From 1991 to 2009, labor force participation for both men and women decreased in Albania but rose in Bosnia and FYR Macedonia. The increasein male labor force participation was especially sharp in Bosnia. / Labor force participation rate, % point changes, 1991-2009

Source: WDI. No data available for Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. Data accessed in June 2012.
Unemployment rate
The unemployment rate is higher in all of the Western Balkans countries when compared to ECA and high-income OECD.
Albania has the lowest unemployment rate in the region for women, with Kosovohaving rates as high as 56 percent for women. / Unemployment rate 15+, 2009 (% labor force)

Source: WDI and UNECE. Data for Albania, Bosnia and Montenegro are 2008.
Self-employment
All countries with available data have higher self-employment rates, for both sexes, than the ECA regional average. Overall, men have higher self-employment rates than women. / Self-employed, by sex (%), 2008

Source: WDI. No data available for Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro.
Monthly wages gender gap
A relatively high share of women’s monthly earnings in relation to men’s in both Albania and Serbia point at a low gender pay gap for monthly earnings in these countries. / Female earnings relative to $1 male earnings (cents), latest available
Source: UNECE. Notes: Gender pay gap is the difference between men’s and women’s average earnings from employment, shown as a percentage of men’s average earnings. 2009 data for Albania, 2007 for Serbia, 2007– 2011 for ECA.No data available for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and FYR Macedonia. Data accessed in September 2012.
Sectoral employment
The services sector absorbs most women and men workers in Montenegro, FYR Macedonia and Serbia. Men, however, tend to participate more than women in the industry sector.
Montenegro and Serbia have significant gender gaps in the industry sector, favoring women, and in the services sector, favoring men. / Sectoral employment (% of total employees), 2008



Source: WDI. No data available for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo.

Women’s voice

Political participation in the Western Balkans
The share of women among ministers and in parliament varies greatly across countries. Serbia and FYR Macedonia show female political participation rates comparable to or higher than the ECA regional average. / Women’s political participation (%), latest

Source: UNECE.Share of women among ministers data for Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia and Montenegro is for 2006, 2007 for Albania, and 2011 for Serbia. No data available for Kosovo.
Women’s participation in business
The share of firms with women in top management positions is well below the regional average for all ECA countries in the Western Balkans, with Kosovo ranking especially low. The share of firms with female participation in ownership in Albania and Kosovo is also below the ECA regional average. / Share of firms with female (%), 2009

Source: WDI. Data for ECA is for 2008 – 2009.
Trafficking in persons
According to the information compiled by the U.S. State Department, the governments of Bosnia and FYR Macedonia fully comply with the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s standards to combat human trafficking. The governments of Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia do not fully comply, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves in compliance with these standards. / Trafficking in persons tier placements*, 2011

Source: U.S. State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
2.5 corresponds to TIER 2 Watch List. See Annex 2, Section 2 for more information.
*The chart does not reflect the number of persons trafficked.

Annex 1. Additional Information

1) The adjusted primary net enrollment rate reflects the total number of pupils of the official primary school age group who are enrolled at primary or secondary education levels, expressed as a percentage of the corresponding population. It differs from the primary enrollment rate in that it also includes the official primary age group who are enrolled in secondary education (e.g., from skipping grades or entering school earlier).

2) TIER 1: Countries whose governments fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards; TIER 2: Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards. TIER 2 WATCH LIST Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards AND: a) The absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing; b) There is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year; or c) The determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year. TIER 3: Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.

Source: U.S. State Department, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

Annex 2. Selected gender-related indicators by country

Annex 3. Selected key gender-related issues by country

[1] Data accessed in March 2012, unless otherwise indicated.

[2]Throughout this note, indicators for ECA refer to the World Development Indicators aggregate “ECA (developing only)”, which includes the following countries: Albania, Kosovo, Russian Federation, Armenia, Kyrgyz Republic, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Tajikistan, Belarus, Lithuania, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia,Turkmenistan, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Montenegro, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Romania.