We cordially invite you to the opening of the exhibition as part of the campaign "Equality without excuses", which will be held on Monday, December 16, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., at the Jedinstvo Plant in Zagreb (Trnjanska struga 34). The exhibition is being organized by the association BaBe Be active. Be emancipated., and will be open to visitors until Thursday, December 19, 2024.

With this exhibition, we want to draw attention to the problem of the unequal division of household chores in the family, where most of the burden still falls on women, who participate in these chores in a significantly higher percentage. Men often miss out on everyday household duties, citing reasons such as: "I never learned that.", "I don't have that habit.", "I'm better at other things.", "It's not for me.", "Tell me what to do and I'll do it.". At the exhibition, visitors have the opportunity to explore steps and tips that encourage equal participation of all family members in household chores. With a shared understanding and sharing of responsibilities, everyone can contribute to a fairer and happier family environment.

The exhibition is part of the campaign "Equality without excuses" which is implemented within the framework of the Thematic Systematic Support of the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society in the area of 'Reconciling private and professional life'. Through the campaign, we aim to stimulate a broader social debate and raise awareness about a more equal distribution of household chores.

We look forward to your arrival!

We cordially invite you to the opening of the exhibition as part of the campaign "Equality without excuses", which will be held on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., at the Pazin City Library (Šetalište Pazin High School 1A). The exhibition is being organized by the association BaBe Be active. Be emancipated., and will be open to visitors until Friday, December 13, 2024.

With this exhibition, we want to draw attention to the problem of the unequal division of household chores in the family, where most of the burden still falls on women, who participate in these chores in a significantly higher percentage. Men often miss out on everyday household duties, citing reasons such as: "I never learned that.", "I don't have that habit.", "I'm better at other things.", "It's not for me.", "Tell me what to do and I'll do it.". At the exhibition, visitors have the opportunity to explore steps and tips that encourage equal participation of all family members in household chores. With a shared understanding and sharing of responsibilities, everyone can contribute to a fairer and happier family environment.

The exhibition is part of the campaign "Equality without excuses" which is implemented within the framework of the Thematic Systematic Support of the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society in the area of 'Reconciling private and professional life'. Through the campaign, we aim to stimulate a broader social debate and raise awareness about a more equal distribution of household chores.

We look forward to your arrival!

As part of the BaBe project, which is being implemented with the support of the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society, the second thematic conference entitled 'Reconciling family and work life: the role of employers in creating balance' was held on 29 November 2024 at the premises of the Croatian Employers' Association. The conference brought together numerous experts who spoke on this current topic, and a video from the 'Equality without excuses' campaign was also premiered.

President of the BaBe association Petra Kontic opened the conference by emphasizing that the main goal of the conference is to identify obstacles in working practices that can be changed without significant investment, which will benefit both employees with young children and employers, taking into account the difficulties faced by working parents. As an interesting part of the research, she particularly highlighted the statements of male respondents who said that they do not participate in household chores because they do not know how, and that this is why we are running a campaign with the motto 'If you don't know, learn. Let's share the chores at home', in collaboration with the designer Gogom Golik, gave ten instructions on how to perform simple household chores.

Gender Equality Ombudsperson Višnja Ljubičić She spoke about the importance of balancing work and private life, and in this context the position of women in the labor market, creating conditions for the active inclusion of women in the labor market through appropriate balancing of work and private life, the activities of the Ombudsperson institution, including those from the EU Ombudsperson project "Towards real equality between men and women: balancing professional and family life".

Anita Dzapo from the Croatian Employers' Association emphasized that employers should provide employees with both flexible working conditions and adequate support. As concrete measures, she suggested the possibility of working from home or remotely. She particularly emphasized the importance of lifelong learning and the need for more active engagement of local authorities in solving problems such as the lack of kindergartens and preschool teachers.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Ksenija Klasnić from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, Department of Sociology, addressed the gap between the theory and practice of gender inequality in unpaid domestic work in Croatia. She emphasized that changing the position of women is made more difficult by the transmission of unequal relations to new generations, with girls copying their mothers and boys copying their fathers. She also added that, unfortunately, there is no country in which complete gender equality has been achieved.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Valerija Barada from the University of Zadar addressed the situation of working parents in Croatia, emphasizing that men are increasingly involved in childcare, while women still bear the bulk of the burden in other aspects of household responsibilities. She presented the results of research conducted in 2022 and 2023, which examined what family life is like in Croatia and what changes could improve their situation. The research in six Croatian regions revealed, among other things, that women are more likely to work part-time, while as many as 15% women in the coastal region were employed "on the undeclared basis". She called the stigma and ridicule that men faced for taking parental leave particularly worrying.

Dr. Blanka Čop from the Faculty of Law in Split warned that the conflict between private and professional life negatively affects the quality of life, health and productivity of employees. She particularly highlighted the problem of overlapping work and private obligations, noting that the results of the survey showed that 54.71% of respondents were contacted by employers outside of working hours, while 461% worked overtime. When it comes to sick leave due to a child's illness, mothers more often took on this responsibility (641%), while the fact that 181% of respondents did not have the opportunity to use sick leave in such situations is worrying. On the other hand, 601% of respondents had the opportunity to perform private obligations during working hours, but here too men were in a more favorable position, as they used this opportunity more often.

Asst. Ph.D. sc. Željka Zdravković from the University of Zadar spoke about the working conditions of young people in Croatia and presented the results of research on the transition of young people from adolescence to adulthood, with finding their first paid job, entering into a marriage/partnership and becoming a parent being some of the most important life events. The research showed the presence of gender differences in the labor market, while working conditions are the most important predictors of young people becoming independent from their parents, entering into a life partnership and becoming a parent.

The lecture was followed by a panel on examples of good practices of employers who encourage the creation of a positive work environment, which was attended by representatives of various companies: Andreja Gracin (Telemach), Antonija Vojnović (Span), Danijela Haralović (Helen Doron), Martina Bastašić (Undabot) and Kristina Volf (Brigada).

The participants presented a range of measures that their companies are implementing to make it easier for employees to reconcile family and work life. These measures include free medical check-ups, gifts for newborns, paid leave to take a child to the doctor, a day off on the first day of school, reboarding for mothers returning from maternity or parental leave to adapt to changes in the workplace, flexible working arrangements, remote work, flexible working hours, breastfeeding rooms, and the organization of family days within the company. These measures show how employers can actively contribute to the balance between employees' work and private obligations.

The conference brought together 38 participants from various sectors, including representatives of employers, ministries, local authorities, academia, civil society and the media, which enabled a dynamic exchange of experiences and ideas. It is expected that the conclusions of the conference will contribute to the design of concrete measures and initiatives to facilitate the reconciliation of family and work life in Croatia.

We cordially invite you to the opening of the exhibition as part of the campaign "Equality without excuses", which will be held on Monday, December 2, 2024 at the Faculty of Philosophy in Rijeka (University Avenue 4). The exhibition is being organized by the association BaBe Be active. Be emancipated., and will be open to visitors until Friday, December 6, 2024.

With this exhibition, we want to draw attention to the problem of the unequal division of household chores in the family, where most of the burden still falls on women, who participate in these chores in a significantly higher percentage. Men often miss out on everyday household duties, citing reasons such as: "I never learned that.", "I don't have that habit.", "I'm better at other things.", "It's not for me.", "Tell me what to do and I'll do it.". At the exhibition, visitors have the opportunity to explore steps and tips that encourage equal participation of all family members in household chores. With a shared understanding and sharing of responsibilities, everyone can contribute to a fairer and happier family environment.

The exhibition is part of the campaign "Equality without excuses" which is implemented within the framework of the Thematic Systematic Support of the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society in the area of 'Reconciling private and professional life'. Through the campaign, we aim to stimulate a broader social debate and raise awareness about a more equal distribution of household chores.

We look forward to your arrival!

On October 23, 2024, from 9:00 to 15:00, at the premises of the Judicial Academy in Zagreb, Maksimirska cesta 63, the sixth workshop for judicial officials was held as part of the SURF&SOUND 2.0 project, with the aim of strengthening capacities to combat online violence against women. The workshop was attended by 17 participants.

Krunoslav Stjepan Rajačić, Deputy County State Attorney at the County State Attorney's Office in Zagreb, gave a presentation on the topic Criminal acts of violence against women committed via the Internet or with the use of information and communication technologies: legal qualification of acts committed online and presentation of the most common criminal acts committed online and their specificities, with an emphasis on the most common criminal offenses. Renato Grgurić, an expert in IT forensics from the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia, gave a presentation on the collection of digital evidence and cross-border access to electronic (digital) evidence for the purpose of effectively prosecuting online violence against women and searches of holders of electronic (digital) evidence. Judge of the Velika Gorica County Court Ivana Bilušić gave a presentation on the topic of PThe European Court of Human Rights' ruling on the issue of online violence against women and examples from case law and concerns.

The project "SURF and SOUND 2.0" aims to enable systematic work on the protection of women victims of domestic and gender-based violence in the online environment, and is implemented by the BaBe association in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners, the Judicial Academy and the Police Directorate. The project is funded by the European Union from the CERF - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values program and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

On October 21, 2024, the fifth in a series of workshops for judicial officials as part of the SURF&SOUND 2.0 project was held at the Regional Center of the Judicial Academy in Osijek. The workshop was attended by 9 participants, employees of the county court and municipal and county state attorneys' offices from the Osijek-Baranja, Vukovar-Srijem, Virovitica-Podravina and Slavonia-Brod counties.

Krunoslav Stjepan Rajačić, Deputy County State Attorney at the County State Attorney's Office in Zagreb, gave a presentation on the legal qualification of crimes committed online, with an emphasis on the most common ones.

Renato Grgurić, an IT forensic expert from the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia, gave a presentation on collecting digital evidence and cross-border access to electronic (digital) evidence for the purpose of effectively prosecuting online violence against women and searching for holders of electronic (digital) evidence.

Ivana Bilušić, judge of the Velika Gorica County Court, gave a presentation on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights related to the issue of online violence against women and presented examples and concerns from case law.

The project "SURF and SOUND 2.0" aims to enable systematic work on the protection of women victims of domestic and gender-based violence in the online environment, and is implemented by the BaBe association in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners, the Judicial Academy and the Police Directorate. The project is funded by the European Union from the CERF - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values program and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

As part of the BaBe association project, which is being implemented with the support of the National Foundation for Civil Society Development, the first thematic conference entitled "Reconciling family and work life: perspectives and challenges in public policy". The conference was held on 9 October 2024 at the House of Europe in Zagreb, with the aim of opening a structured dialogue with the Ministry of Demography and Immigration and other relevant stakeholders. The focus of the conference was on identifying current challenges and needs in implementing policies that enable a better balance between private and professional life, as well as on planning future activities in this area.

Introduction and key topics

The conference was opened by Petra Kontić from the BaBe association with a welcoming speech, presenting the importance of the project and the need for coordination of public policies that support the balance between family and work responsibilities. Keynote speakers from different sectors presented their expert opinions and experiences, highlighting different aspects of the problem.

Dr. Željka Josić, MD, State Secretary of the Ministry of Demography and Immigration, held a presentation on the topic "Demographic policies and measures: balancing work and family in contemporary society"She highlighted the challenges facing families in today's society and presented the demographic measures that the Government is implementing to facilitate the reconciliation of family and work obligations.

Iva Prpić, M.Sc. from the City Office for Social Protection, Health, Veterans and Persons with Disabilities presented the activities of the City of Zagreb regarding the reconciliation of work and private life. The City of Zagreb is implementing a number of measures that include support for parents and social services for families.

Assistant Professor Anka Kekez Koštro, Ph.D. from the Faculty of Political Science highlighted the importance of public services in the process of balancing family and work life. High-quality and accessible public services, such as kindergartens, schools and social welfare, are key to enabling parents to more easily balance their private and work obligations.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Valerija Barada from the University of Zadar spoke about the specific challenges faced by families in Croatia. In a presentation titled "Families in Croatia: work, housework, children", Barada highlighted gender inequality in the division of household chores and childcare and their impact on women's employment.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suzana Košir from the University of Maribor shared the Slovenian experience through the topic "Political participation and private life of women: the example of Slovenia"Slovenia has had some successes in promoting gender equality, but challenges remain, particularly in the context of women's political participation and their private responsibilities.

Research results

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Valerija Barada presented the results of a public opinion survey conducted in 2022 as part of the BaBe association project entitled "The impact of public policies on the quality of family and working life and on the demographic picture of Croatia - spaces of change", conducted by the Department of Sociology, University of Zadar. The research showed that in Croatia there is still a pronounced imbalance between the family and professional lives of working women and men. Women are more affected by the conflict between work and family obligations, which negatively affects their quality of life.

It was found that the reconciliation of family and work responsibilities is closely linked to social policy, flexible working conditions and the availability of public services. The conference participants agreed that it is necessary to create a comprehensive public policy that will encompass the above aspects and enable a better balance between private and work life.

Conclusion and recommendations

The conference opened the space for further public debate on topics related to the reconciliation of family and work life and laid the foundation for recommendations for improving public policies. In particular, the need for harmonization of strategic documents at the national and European levels was highlighted in order to create a comprehensive framework for achieving a balance between family and professional obligations of women and men.

The conference brought together 35 participants from different sectors, including representatives of ministries, local governments, academia, civil society and the media, which enabled a rich exchange of experiences and knowledge. It is expected that the results of this conference will contribute to the development of concrete measures and activities that will facilitate the reconciliation of family and work life in Croatia.

Maja Ž. is one of many women who have gone through the hell of online violence, but Maja Ž. is also one of the few who, in these traumatic circumstances, did not choose silence, but rather fight. She told Forum.tm the details of the agony she experienced for months, which left serious consequences for her health.

You can find the article here.

On June 20 and 21, 2024, a two-day thematic multidisciplinary discussion entitled "Family as a Workplace: Research and Public Policies" within the framework of the Thematic Systematic Support of the National Foundation for Civil Society Development in the field of 'Balancing private and professional life'The multidisciplinary discussion brought together prominent Croatian scientists from various scientific and higher education institutions with the aim of discussing methodological approaches and experiences in the field of balancing family and professional obligations of women and men, with the purpose of opening up space for understanding, creating and implementing public policies within the framework of balancing private and professional life.

The first day of the multidisciplinary discussion was given by: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Valerija Barada from the Department of Sociology, University of Zadar and Associate Professor Dr. Sc. Ksenija Klasnić from the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Valerija Barada presented research conducted in 2022 as part of the BaBe association project "The Impact of Public Policies on the Quality of Family and Working Life and on the Demographic Picture of Croatia - Spaces of Change". The research included multi-stage and multi-component action research using a mixed method, and showed that household chores, especially routine ones, are still most often performed by women; that women also more often have to manage resources, time, emotions and relationships in the family; that women more often experience tensions between family and work roles than men; that children from less developed regions and children from unemployed or single-parent households have a lower chance of using public care and education services.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Ksenija Klasnić presented experiences from five projects she implemented in the period from 2017 to 2024, which included housework, work-life balance and mental work as research subjects. She presented different methodological approaches, which most often included mixed methodology, and highlighted individual findings such as the discrepancy in the amount of time and type of engagement that women and men devote to performing household and other family duties; the existence of gender inequalities in performing mental work between men and women in the private sphere, and the introduction of work flexibility for employees as a tool that would particularly contribute to a more successful reconciliation of the private and professional spheres.

After the presentation, a discussion was held about the possibilities of using digital tools to increase the quality of life of working mothers, about public services, about flexible forms of work and the procedures for constructing various tools for measuring family chores and mental work.

On the second day of the multidisciplinary discussion, a public panel was held, attended by scientists, graduate students, and representatives of the City of Zadar, Zadar County, the Croatian Employment Service, and the Croatian Institute of Public Health. In the introductory part of the panel discussion, Tamara Šterk from the BaBe association presented activities from the first year of implementation of the Thematic Systematic Support of the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Valerija Barada emphasized the intention that the research would serve to open a dialogue with key stakeholders, with the aim of designing and implementing public policies in the area of improving the reconciliation of private and professional life.

The panel discussion was attended by Dr. Mirjana Adamović, Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Dr. Blanka Čop, Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Law in Split, assoc. prof. Ph.D. sc. Anita Dremel, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy in Osijek, Associate Professor Dr. Sc. Ksenija Klasnić, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb, Dr. Marija Šarić, Department of Sociology, University of Zadar and Assoc. Ph.D. sc. Željka Zdravković, Department of Sociology, University of Zadar.

The conclusions of the public panel can be summarized in a few key points, as follows:

- men who are involved in household/family work mostly perform duties related to the outdoor space (walking with children, repairing and taking care of the car, buying groceries, etc.), which can place women in an isolating position within the household with repetitive tasks

- mental work is invisible, permanent, diffuse, unpaid and mostly performed by women, as a result of which they show the negative consequences of too much mental work that can lead to mental strain

- social aspects of mental work include organizing family life, maintaining social relationships outside the household, and providing emotional support to household members

- cognitive-emotional household management consists of two dimensions: resource and time management and emotion and relationship management, and within both dimensions, reach and intensity can be measured.

- work obligations more often have an impact on family life for women than for men

- men perceive that they perform family/household chores equally to their partners, while women estimate that they mostly do the above

- Research shows that respondents are equally divided in their views on the division of household work, while practice indicates that behavior lags behind attitudes.

- public policies within the framework of balancing private and professional life should be gender, age and regionally adapted

In the closed part of the discussion that followed the public panel, the emotional and cognitive components of mental work and its social aspects, analytical dimensions in measuring mental work, and methods of researching mental work were discussed.

The two-day thematic multidisciplinary discussion is just one in a series of activities aimed at exchanging knowledge and experiences between different stakeholders with the aim of opening a dialogue and creating proposals for improving public policies for harmonizing the private and professional lives of women and men based on research data. We continue to work on raising awareness about the importance of equal sharing of family responsibilities between women and men and the importance of gender equality and enabling harmony between private and professional life.

On June 10, 2024, the second in a series of workshops for judicial officials as part of the SURF&SOUND 2.0 project was held at the Judicial Academy in Zagreb. The workshop was attended by 11 participants, employees of county and municipal courts and state attorneys' offices from the City of Zagreb, Zagreb, Krapina-Zagorje and Sisak-Moslavina Counties.

The workshop leaders were Krunoslav Stjepan Rajačić, Deputy County State Attorney at the County State Attorney's Office in Zagreb, Ivana Bilušić, Judge of the County Court in Velika Gorica, and Renato Grgurić, IT expert from the Ministry of the Interior.

The workshop provided an interdisciplinary overview of the phenomenon of online gender-based violence, as well as strategies for combating it, including providing support to victims with a gender-sensitive approach. Special emphasis was placed on the legal and IT aspects of the problem, with practical examples and knowledge of evidence collection and other specific skills related to the topic.

The project "SURF and SOUND 2.0" aims to enable systematic work on the protection of women victims of domestic and gender-based violence in the online environment, and is implemented by the BaBe association in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners, the Judicial Academy and the Police Directorate. The project is funded by the European Union from the CERF - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values program and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.