Association BaBe Be active. Be emancipated.. and partners held on April 29, 2021, on the eve of International Labor Day, online presentation of the project "The impact of public policies on the quality of family and working life and on the demographic picture of Croatia - spaces of change", with a focus on the current situation regarding the possibilities and obstacles in harmonizing the private and professional lives of women, men and young people in the Republic of Croatia, which was attended by representatives of state bodies, local and regional self-government, the academic community and civil society organizations.
The project will build Network for harmonizing the private and business life of women, men and young people which will, through structured dialogues and other activities, actively advocate for the implementation of legislative changes and other measures to establish meaningful and comprehensive public policies at the national and local levels with the aim of harmonizing private and business life in accordance with the development specificities of the regions in which the Network members operate. Public policies will be based on multi-stage research that will be conducted as part of the project by the research team of the University of Zadar.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Valerija Barada, headmistress Department of Sociology, University of Zadar and the head of the research team within the project, stated during the presentation: "Our Department is happy to and often deals with such topics, because we want to influence social change with our work. We have assembled a research team of excellent scientists, specialized in various fields, covering all aspects nominated in the research, but also the entire project. We look forward to cooperating with partner civil society organizations, all of which are important actors in their local communities, but also at the national level. With high-quality research results, we hope to actively contribute to the creation of well-founded and implementable public policies that will improve the quality of family and work life of women and men in Croatia, and facilitate the transition to the world of work and family life for young people."
Women are seen as those responsible for the family and the private sphere (the term woman is associated with unpaid work), while men are seen as those who operate in the public sphere and professional work (therefore associated with paid work). Such a division leads to a widespread unequal division of household and family responsibilities, which is one of the main reasons for discrimination against women in the labor market, as well as one of the main reasons for their limited social and political inclusion (BaBe, 2016).
"It is urgent to pay attention to the differences between the basic incomes of women and men and to try to promote and initiate a balance that would drastically reduce the possibility of economic violence, reducing the causes themselves and not the consequences of it. According to a report by the European Parliament, the difference in pensions between women and men in 2019 was around 29%. Given the new socio-economic picture of Croatia that is just emerging due to the challenging last year, concern is justified and we hope for success in implementing strategic plans that will prevent future risks", he says Nina Popovic, Network activity manager from the BaBe association
The project, abbreviated as "Spaces of Change", is ongoing. 36 months and is carried out in The City of Zagreb and the following counties: Sisak-Moslavina, Koprivnica-Križevci, Osijek-Baranja, Vukovar-Srijem, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Zadar, Split-Dalmatia and Istria countiesThroughout and after the project implementation period, the Network aims to include other counties in the Republic of Croatia and thus gain a broader picture of the current situation and the necessary changes.
The project leader is the BaBe association, and the project partners are: University of Zadar, City of Novska, Vukovar-Srijem County, Association for Human Rights and Civic Participation PaRIter, Association 'HERA' Križevci - For the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, Center for Civic Initiatives Poreč, Women's Association "IZVOR", Croatian Association of Business Women Krug, Dominoes - organization for the promotion of women's rights, Space for Gender and Media Culture K-Zona and Croatian Youth Network.
The value of the project is 3,599,941.69 HRK, of which 15% is financed from the state budget of the Republic of Croatia, and 85% from the European Social Fund. The intermediary bodies are Ministry of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy and National Foundation for Civil Society Development within the Operational Program Effective human resources (European Structural and Investment Funds in the Republic of Croatia in the financial period 2014-2020).
Mirjana Herceg, program coordinator Women's Association "IZVOR" During the presentation of the project, she invited all interested parties to join the Network as members or external collaborators and emphasized that "the open character of the Network points to the importance of including other subjects and individuals motivated to contribute with their knowledge and integrity to the full revival of economic, social and cultural rights in our society, and within that the autonomy of creating private and business life in their environment".
The content of this press release is the sole responsibility of the BaBe association.
