gender aspects of life course in serbia seen through mics data – some of the roots of gender...

Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia seen through MICS data – some of the roots of gender inequalities on the labour

market

Marija BabovicUniversity of Belgrade &

SeConS – Development Initiative Group

Acknowledgment

• Presentation enabled by the courtesy of UNICEF Serbia – data from unpublished study ‘Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia Seen through MICS Data’

What is added value of life course approach?

• Gender specific situations, problems, needs, as well as gender gaps and inequalities are age-related and influenced by the differences in access to resources specific for different stages in the life course.

• Significance of gendered pathways, trajectories and transitions – foundations set in one stage in the life course have consequences in the next one. Policies should target roots not only consequences.

• Synchronization and institutionalization of life course – rigidities of social policies and institutional framework.

DISCRIMINATION AT THE LABOUR MARKET

Employer’s attitudesIf they are equally qualified for the position, to whom they will give advantage?

Person younger than 30 Person older than 30 Doesn’t matter

68% 2% 30%

Men Women Doesn’t matter

23% 10% 67%

Person with working experience

Person with no working experience

Doesn’t matter

70% 3% 27%

Local person Internally displaced person Doesn’t matter

27% 1% 72%

Non-Roma person Roma person Doesn’t matter

37% 2% 61%

Source: SeConS (2009) Position of IDPs on the Labour Market

Gender discrimination starts early, and in the family…

Girls Boys Girls BoysNational sample Roma settlements

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

32

41

17 18

89 90

54

43

Father's engagement Mother's engagement

* From UNICEF Study ‘Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia Seen through MICS data’, fortcoming

Percentage of children old 36-59 months with whom biological father and mother engaged in at least one activity that promote learning during last 3 days by gender, Serbia and Roma settlements, 2014

Mean number of activities with biological father and mother over the last 3 days, by gender of children old 36-59 months

Serbia and Roma settlements, 2014

Girls Boys Girls BoysNational sample Roma settlements

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

2.73.1

1.7 1.8

5.2 5.1

3.53.1

Activities with father Activities with mother

* From UNICEF Study ‘Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia Seen through MICS data’, forthcoming

ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT, GENDER SEGREGATION AND INEQUALITIES IN UNPAID WORK

Examples

• Share of women among entrepreneurs – 26% (SeConS, 2011)

• Share of women among managers – 25% (SeConS, 2014)

• Share of women among family helpers – 71% (LFS, 2014)

• Share of women among farm managers - 16%, • Share of women among farm family helpers

labour force – 63% (Bogdanov, Babovic).

Unpaid work in the household, married women, 2011

WHERE ARE ROOTS?

Education

• Gender gaps are most prominent in the primary school completion with difference in favour of girls in general population, and in favour of boys in population living in Roma settlements.

• In secondary school, gender gap is in favour of girls in general population, among children living in Roma settlements, gap is in favour of boys.

Gender parity index for secondary school (national), Serbia and Roma settlements, 2014

2014

General Roma settlements

Secondary school Secondary school

Total 1.08 0.53

Education of mother

No school 0 0.3

Primary school 1.18 0.72

Secondary 0.98 0

Higher 1.02

Wealth index

poorest 60 percent 1.14 0.57

Richest 40 percent 1.02 0.5* From UNICEF Study ‘Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia Seen through MICS data’, fortcoming

Participation in economic activities and child labour

• Age specific thresholds for age 12-14:– For economic activities 14 hours per week– For household chores 28 hours per week

• Age specific thresholds for age 15-17:– For economic activities 43 hours per week– For household chores 43 hours per week

Participation in economic activities

girls, national sample

boys, national sample

Roma girls

Roma boys

girls, national sample

boys, national sample

Roma boys

Abov

e th

e ag

e sp

ecifi

c th

resh

old

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

14

26

2

5

1

3

1

10

34

3

15

0

0

1

15-17 12-14

* From UNICEF Study ‘Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia Seen through MICS data’, fortcoming

Structure of child engagement in economic activities by sex, adolescents 15-17, Serbia and Roma settlements, 2014

agricultural activities family business production or sale0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

13.0

4.0

1.0

27.0

16.0

4.0

1.0 1.00.0

6.0

9.0

1.0

Serbia Girls Serbia Boys Roma settlements Girls Roma settlements Boys

* From UNICEF Study ‘Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia Seen through MICS data’, fortcoming

Structure of child engagement in household chores by sex, Serbia and Roma settlements

2014

Caring for children, old or sick

Cooking, cleaning, washing

Repair of households equipment

Shoping for household

Collecting wood, fetching water

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

38

1

26

96

5

47

92

3

86

6

21

37

31

96

5

22

95

5

92

3

National sample girls National sample boys Roma settlement girls Roma settlement boys

* From UNICEF Study ‘Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia Seen through MICS data’, fortcoming

Prevalence of child labour, Serbia and Roma settlements, adolescents 15-17, 2014

national sample Roma settlements0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

2

4

1112

girls boys

* From UNICEF Study ‘Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia Seen through MICS data’, fortcoming

Gendered pathways from adolescence to adulthood

• Divergent gendered pathways among late adolescents and youth: boys pushed towards labour, girls towards school.

• Earlier withdrawal of boys and young men from education limit their employment and wellbeing prospects, but at the end give them advantage over girls and young women who lack experience.

• Marriage and childbearing(particularly early) lead to lower educational attainment and exclusion from labour market.

Percentage of young men and women (18-24) attending school at the time of survey, by school adjusted age, Serbia and Roma settlements, 2014

18 19 20 21 22 23 240

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

74

5855 56

3235

15

90

66 67

5660 59

2924

2 3 30 2 0

18

9 9

1 30 1

Men from national sample Women from national sampleRoma women Roma men

* From UNICEF Study ‘Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia Seen through MICS data’, fortcoming

Age at first delivery, women 18-49, Serbia 2014

National sample Roma settlements0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

19.0

68.0

78.0

32.0

3.0 0.0

35-4920-34less than 20

Early child beraring (before age of 18) among women 18-24: 1.4% in national sampleand 38.3% in Roma settlements

17% of women old 15-49 years living in Roma settlements married before age of 15

* From UNICEF Study ‘Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia Seen through MICS data’, fortcoming

Early childbearing – women aged 20-24 years who have had a live birth before age 18, Serbia and Roma settlements, 2014

Serbia Roma settlements% No. of

women% No. of

womenTotal 1.4 562 38.3 377Area Densely populated 1.4 218 41.4 137Intermediate 0.6 133 37.9 147Thinly populated 1.8 210 34.3 92Education None (*) 9 46.8 72Primary 5.7 49 42.1 253Secondary* 1.6 179 8.0 52

17% of women old 15-49 years living in Roma settlements married before age of 15

* From UNICEF Study ‘Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia Seen through MICS data’, fortcoming

Women 18-49 according to education level attended, Serbia, 2014

18-24 25-30 31-40 41-490%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

6.0 9.0 11.0 14.0

44.0 40.0

57.060.0

50.0 51.0

32.026.0

None Primary Secondary Higher

Increase of educational levels with Bolognization...

• ...are conditional. Only if life is focused on education as single pathway.

• Marriage, parenting, employment, increase risks of drop out from university and lower educational attainments.

Women by educational attainment, marital status and childbearing, general population, 2014

has children

has no children

married or in union

never married or in union

has children

has no children

married or in union

formerly married or in union

never married or in union

18-2

425

-30

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

19

4

20

3

16

2

13

10

2

61

41

56

41

59

23

54

51

18

16

55

20

56

25

76

33

39

80

none primary secondary higher

* From UNICEF Study ‘Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia Seen through MICS data’, fortcoming

Women by educational attainment, marital status and childbearing, Roma settlements, 2014

Has children

Has no children

Married or in union

Formerly married or in union

Never married or in union

Has children

Has no children

Married or in union

Formerly married or in union

18-2

425

-30

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

19

10

17

28

10

23

17

22

24

73

55

74

70

47

71

64

71

74

7

35

9

3

43

6

19

7

2

None Primary Secondary

* From UNICEF Study ‘Gender Aspects of Life Course in Serbia Seen through MICS data’, fortcoming

Conclusions

• Inequalities on the labour market have roots in earlier stages in the life course.

• From MICS data we can identify several:– Gendered upbringing practices and support for

learning provided by mothers and fathers;– Gendered patterns of participation in ‘productive’

and ‘reproductive economy’ socialization with ‘public’ and ‘private’ spheres;

– Negative effects of marriage and childbearing on educational achievement.

How policies address these issues?

• New Strategy for Gender Equality with Action Plan: targeting both spheres of ‘productive’ and ‘reproductive’ economic participation.

• Educational policies are rigid – no way back for early school leavers, no possibilities to combine schooling with parenthood and work.

• Policies offer choices: ‘either-or’ type not opportunities to chose multiple pathways.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTIONmbabovic@f.bg.ac.rs