FEBRUARY 2024 CROATIA GENDER LANDSCAPE 1 @2024 The World Bank 1818 H Street N.W., Washington D.C. 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 www.worldbank.org SOME RIGHTS RESERVED: This work is a product of the staff of the World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the government they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply and judgment on the part of the World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because the World Bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. ATTRIBUTION Please cite the work as follows: Nguyen, Nga Thi Viet, and Vedran Recher. 2024. Croatia: Gender Landscape 2024. Washington, DC: World Bank. All queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to World Bank Publications, World Bank, 1818 H Street N.W., Washington D.C. 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2625; e-mail: pubrights@worldbank.org. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLES 3 FIGURES 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4 1. OVERVIEW 5 2. HUMAN CAPITAL 6 3. THE LABOR MARKET AND TIME SPENT ON UNPAID WORK 7 4. INCOME, POVERTY, AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION 12 5. POWER 16 6. VIOLENCE 16 7. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 17 REFERENCES: 19 3 TABLES Table 1. Croatia Human Capital Index 2020: Selected components by gender 7 Table 2. Gender wage gap by occupational wage quintile (%), EU Member States 14 FIGURES Figure 1. Gender Equality Index, 2023 5 Figure 2. Human Capital Index gap (girl-to-boy score ratio), 2020, selected EU countries 6 Figure 3. Labor Force Participation (aged 20-64) 7 Figure 4. Employment rates (aged 20-64) 7 Figure 5. Female employment rates across EU Member States in 2022 (20-64) 8 Figure 6. Male employment rates across EU Member States in 2022 (20-64) 8 Figure 7. Employment rate by gender and age group, 2013-2022 8 Figure 8. Employment rates of men and women by educational attainment (20-64) 10 Figure 9. Employment rate for men and women, by type of household (20-49) 11 Figure 10. Gender gaps in paid, unpaid, and total working hours 12 Figure 11. Gender pay gap (%) in EU Member States, 2010-2019 12 Figure 12. Unadjusted gender pay gap by working time (%), 2021 13 Figure 13. Material deprivation gender gap, 2022 14 Figure 14. Population in energy poverty (%), by gender, across EU Member States. 15 Figure 15.  Share of cases of family violence (as per article 179a of Criminal Code) relative to total criminal cases 17 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This note was prepared by Nga Thi Viet Nguyen (Senior Economist, EECPV) with valuable contri- butions from Vedran Recher (Consultant, EECPV) and insightful feedback from Iva Tomic (Economist, ECCMT2). The team worked under the supervision of Jehan Arulpragasam (Country Manager, ECCHR) and Ambar Narayan (Practice Manager, EECPV). The team is grateful to Milena Koren (Head of the Sector for Social Policy Development, Ministry of Labor, Pension System, Family, and Social Policy) for her review of the document. The team thanks Marcello Arrigo for his careful edit- ing and Anamarija Perić for the design of the note. 5 1. OVERVIEW In Croatia, the subject of gender equality has across six domains: work, money, knowledge, time, gradually moved from the fringes to the forefront power, and health—assigned Croatia a score of 60.7 of public discourse, reflecting both global trends out of 100 in 2023. Such a score was almost 10 points and local imperatives. Over the past decades, lower than the EU average, ranking 20th out of 27 Croatia's journey towards gender equality has seen EU Member States in 2023. both progress and setbacks. The country's acces- sion to the European Union (EU) necessitated the Although Croatia’s overall Gender Equality adoption of EU standards in gender equality, lead- Index score has improved over the past decade, ing to certain policy changes and advancements. domain-specif ic scores offer a more granular However, EU-driven change has not fully addressed view of the remaining challenges. The largest the deeper, systemic issues of gender inequality in gap between Croatia and the rest of the EU is in the Croatia, such as entrenched societal norms and cul- “time” domain, which measures gender inequality in tural attitudes that perpetuate gender stereotypes, the allocation of time spent on care, domestic work, unequal distribution of domestic responsibilities, and social activities (Figure 1). Notably, Croatia’s score disparities in labor market participation and pay, in this domain has worsened over time, marking and insufficient support for women in leadership one of the steepest declines observed across all roles (Dobrotić, 2023). In addition, the discussion of EU Member States.1 In 2023, nearly 80 percent of gender equality in the country often takes a back Croatian women aged between 18 and 74 did cooking seat in the context of broader economic shifts, as it and/or housework every day, a rate more than twice occurred at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. as high as among Croatian men, and far above the EU average. Albeit still below the EU average, since As of 2023, Croatia was still among the low- 2013 Croatia has made substantial progress in the est-ranked EU countries for overall gender equality. “power” domain, i.e., in the representation of women The Gender Equality Index—produced annually by in political, economic, and social decision-making. the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) In addition, gender equality in the “work” domain to measure gender equality in EU Member States has started to converge to the EU average.2 Figure 1: Gender Equality Index, 2023 HR 60.7 Index EU 70.2 HR 72.1 Work EU 73.8 HR 73.6 Money EU 82.6 HR 54.2 Knowledge EU 63.6 HR 48.6 Time EU 68.5 HR 49.5 Power EU 59.1 HR 84.8 Health EU 88.5 Source: EIGE (2023) 1 https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index/2023/country/HR 2 https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index/2013/domain/time/HR 6 2. HUMAN CAPITAL As in other EU countries, girls perform better than but marginally among men (from 17.4 percent to 18.1 boys in Croatia in the accumulation of human percent).3 Women are consistently in the majority capital. The latest Human Capital Index, for 2020, at the highest echelon of education, accounting for highlighted a human capital gender gap in favor of more than 50 percent of doctors of science since girls in Croatia, which ranked among the largest in 2010 (DZS, 2022).4 the EU (Figure 2). With complete education and full health, a girl born in Croatia will be 74 percent as Health outcomes show no clear gender gap. In productive when she grows up as she could be—ver- 2022, women in Croatia had a longer life expec- sus 68 percent for Croatian boys. Higher test scores tancy at birth than men—79.6 years versus 73.4 and more years of schooling are the key drivers of years, respectively (World Development Indicator the human capital advantage for women (Table 1). 2023). The number of healthy-life years at birth was marginally higher for women (59.3) than men (57.9). The educational gap in favor of girls has been Nevertheless, self-perceived health is slightly better widening. Between 2016 and 2022, the percentage among men, with 65 percent of them reporting of individuals with tertiary education rose rapidly good or very good health compared with 61 percent among women (from 22.6 percent to 26.4 percent), of women (EIGE, 2023).5 Figure 2. Human Capital Index gap (girl-to-boy score ratio), Table 1. Croatia Human Capital Index 2020, selected EU countries 2020: Selected components by gender HCI and its Boys Girls 1.14 Lithuania components Latvia Girl-to-boy ratios in HCI, circa 2020 1.12 Overall HCI 0.68 0.74 1.10 Poland Expected years 13.2 13.6 of schooling 1.08 Estonia Finland Croatia Slovenia Learning-adjusted 10.2 10.7 1.06 years of school Czech Republic Denmark Harmonized 1.04 France Luxembourg 482.9 492.2 test scores Austria Italy Cyprus Ireland 1.02 United Kingdom Source: Human Capital Index.5 10.2 10.4 10.6 10.8 11.0 11.2 11.4 11.6 Log GDP per capita at USD PPP, circa 2020 Source: Human Capital Project 20234 3 Eurostat 2023 [EDAT_LFSE_03] 4 Available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/human-capital 5 Available at https://databank.worldbank.org/source/human-capital-index/Type/TABLE/preview/on 7 3. THE LABOR MARKET AND TIME SPENT ON UNPAID WORK Despite favorable human capital endowments employment rate among Croatian women rose and a steady improvement to their position f rom 52.8 percent to 65 percent, slightly below in the labor market, the employment rate for the EU average of 69.3 percent (Figure 4). As of women in Croatia is still among the lowest in 2022, Croatia’s female employment rate remained the EU. Between 2013 and 2022, female partici- the fifth lowest in the EU (Figure 5)—although pation in the Croatian labor force increased from the male employment rate was the lowest in the 62.9 percent to 70.2 percent, approaching the bloc (Figure 6), highlighting the urgent need for EU average (Figure 3). Over the same period, the job creation across the board. Figure 3: Labor Force Participation (aged 20-64) Figure 4: Employment rates (aged 20-64) Source: Eurostat 2023 (LFSI_EMP_A) Source: Eurostat 2023 (LFSA_ARGAN) 8 Figure 5: Female employment rates across EU Figure 6: Male employment rates across EU Member Member States in 2022 (20-64) States in 2022 (20-64) Source: Eurostat 2023 (LFSA_ARGAN) Source: Eurostat 2023 (LFSA_ARGAN) The gender gap in employment rate has persisted expectation that they might soon take maternity leave over time, with widening differentials among the could make employers hesitant to hire or promote ages of 25 and 49 pointing to the impact of career them (Petit, 2007). In addition, women might seek interruptions among women. Between 2013 and 2022, flexible or part-time roles instead of full-time employ- the difference in employment rates between men and ment, in anticipation of future family responsibilities women in the 25-29 age bracket increased significantly, (Sakai and Miyazato, 2014; Castro, 2014). Croatia’s from 5 percentage points to nearly 20 percentage Ombudsperson for Gender Equality (2022) has raised points (Figure 7). In the prime working-age bracket concerns about the protection of pregnant women (25-49), the employment rate rose for both men and on fixed-term contracts, emphasizing the need for women, but the gender gap did not vary (Figure 7). stronger safeguards and highlighting the challenges A potential explanation for this persistent gap relates of proving discrimination in contract renewals due to to family planning, childbearing, and child-rearing. pregnancy. However, stronger protections may turn With the average age of first-time mothers in Croatia into a double-edged sword, by making employers standing at 29.6 (DZS, 2023), women around this age even warier of employing women of child-bearing could be at a disadvantage in the labor market, as an age (Scheubel, 2014). 9 Figure 7: Employment rate by gender and age group, 2013-2022 Source: Eurostat 2023 [LFSA_ERGAED] Rules on flexible work and parental leave, applied that is constrained by care obligations could become equally to men and women, can help level the play- available for employment (Gregory and Milner, 2008). ing field in the labor market. In 2021, men accounted for 3.3 percent of all workers who took parental leave The gender gap in employment rate is only nar- to care for children within 180 days of their birth, and rowing in the 50–64 age bracket, possibly due for 5.3 percent of those who took it to care for chil- to increases in the statutory retirement age for dren aged between 181 and 900 days (HZZO, 2022). women,7 and to a policy introduced in 2019 which Since August 1st, 2022, employers must allow male allows early retirees to receive their full pension employees to use 10 days of paternity leave, with their while working part-time. As women are more full salary paid for by the Croatian Institute for Health likely to retire early due to the arrival of a grandchild Insurance; yet, in the first year since the enactment (Lumsdaine and Vermeer, 2015), the latter policy of the rule, only 60 percent of fathers exercised this enables them to combine work and care without right (SDUZDM, 2023). In addition, in 2022, Croatia suffering a penalty in the form of reduced pensions. implemented the EU Directive 2019/1158, aiming In addition, women tend to have a greater financial to help parents and caregivers balance work and incentive than men to work part-time later in life, personal life. The revised labor law allows employees since on average they accrue lower pension benefits to request temporary remote work arrangements than their male peers.8 The number of pensioners for reasons such as pregnancy or parental care for who work part time while receiving a full pension children under eight. If more fathers are able and 6 almost doubled in three years—f rom 12,037 in willing to seek flexible working arrangements for January 2020 to 23,365 in January 2023—and 35 childcare purposes, part of the female labor force percent of them are women. 6 However, employers retain full discretion in considering such requests, with no legal recourse for employees if their request is denied. The effectiveness of this measure will depend on Croatian employers' willingness to embrace flexible work arrangements for caregivers. 7 For women, old-age retirement was possible at the age of 63 years and three months as of 2023. The pensionable age for women started at 60 and has been increasing by three months every year, with a target of reaching the age of 65 in 2030. As of 2023, the earliest possible retirement age stood at 60 for men, and at 58 years and three months for women. In case of early retirement, pension benefits fall linearly by 0.2 percent per month of anticipation (equal to 2.4 percent per year, or 12 percent for the legal maximum of five years). 8 Eurostat 2023 [ILC_PNP13] 10 The gender gaps in employment rate are widest 2021, mothers educated below the tertiary level among individuals educated below the tertiary accounted for 64 percent of all live births in the level, as women in this group face a dispropor- country (DZS, 2023b); furthermore, women without tionate burden from house chores and childcare, tertiary education spent 54 percent of their time on limited job opportunities, and strong gender household chores during the lockdown induced by norms. The difference in the employment rates the COVID-19 pandemic, versus a share of 31 percent of men and women with tertiary education is among women with tertiary education (World Bank, insignificant in Croatia. On the other hand, among 2021). In addition, among women in the labor force, individuals educated below the secondary level, educational differences are highly correlated with the employment rate for women is about 10 per- turnover differences—which suggests that those centage points lower than that for men—and has with lower education levels may have weaker labor been declining over time (Figure 8). Similarly, the force attachment than their more educated peers, employment gap between men and women with impacting their participation in the labor market secondary education is consistently wide (Figure (Mincer, 1991). Finally, strong gender norms and 8). One potential explanation for such trends is limited employment opportunities significantly that women with lower education tend to have affect women with lower qualifications, leading to more children and more childcare obligations. In much lower participation in paid work (EIGE, 2023b). Figure 8. Employment rates of men and women by educational attainment (20-64) Source: Eurostat 2023 [LFSI_EDUC_A]. 11 Gender-related differences in employment rates their employment opportunities, earning, health, across household types shine additional light and ability to maintain a work-and-life balance on the effect of unequal domestic and caring (Badun, 2023). The OECD survey conducted in responsibilities on women’s role in the labor Croatia in 2020 indicates that women constitute market. Among adults aged 20-49 who are single nearly 75 percent of the caregivers for the elderly and have no children, the female employment rate (OECD 2023a). When considering Croatian women is noticeably higher than the male rate, and the of prime working age who live in households with gap in favor of women is widening. Yet, the trend elderly family members, there is a 2.7 percentage in employment reverses when women live within point decrease in the likelihood of participating in a larger household (Figure 9). This discrepancy is the labor market, after adjusting for factors such likely rooted in cultural norms that assign women as education and age (World Bank 2020). In 2022, the primary role in caregiving and domestic tasks about 27 percent of Croatian women aged 25-64 when cohabiting, which adversely affects their labor did not participate in the labor force due to care- market position. More than 70 percent of children giving responsibilities.9 In addition, 60 percent of under the age of three lack access to formal childcare, Croatians held the view that a woman’s primary with women in the household typically filling the role is to tend to her home and family, a figure that gap. In addition, the responsibility of elderly care, stands significantly higher than the EU average of which often falls on women, can further impede 44 percent (Eurobarometer 2017). 9 Eurostat 2023 [LFSA_IGAR] Figure 9. Employment rate for men and women, by type of household (20-49) Eurostat 2023 [LFSA_IGAR] 12 Croatia features the widest gender gap in the EU Member States (Figure 10). This trend aligns with when it comes to time spent on unpaid work. On the prevalence of patriarchal views in Croatia: 31 average in 2023, Croatian women spent nearly 20 percent of men and 22 percent of women believed hours more per week than men on unpaid activi- that women should do most household chores. ties, making the country a clear outlier among EU (World Bank, 2021). Figure 10. Gender gaps in paid, unpaid, and total working hours Source: (Eurofound, 2023) Notes: the vertical axis shows how many fewer hours women spent on paid work relative to men. The horizontal axis shows how many more hours women spent on unpaid work relative to men. The bigger the size of a bubble, the wider the gender gap in total working hours (paid and unpaid). 13 4. INCOME, POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION Women in the Croatian labor market earn sig- percent—the highest level in the EU (Figure 12). nificantly less than men, and the gap has been Occupational segregation plays a role in the gender widening over time. The average wages and wage gap, with female-majority sectors such as pensions received by women in Croatia fell short healthcare and education11 offering many part-time of those of men by 11.1 percent (as of 2021) and roles with comparatively low wages. As of 2022, 60 24.8 percent (as of 2022), respectively.10 Notably, percent of all part-time workers were women, with the gender wage gap has steadily widened since the share rising to 72 percent in both healthcare 2010 (Figure 11). For part-time jobs, it reaches 21.6 and education (DZS, 2023c). 10 Eurostat 2023 [ILC_PNP13] and [SDG_05_20] 11 In 2022, women accounted for 78 percent of workers in healthcare and 80 percent in education. Figure 11. Gender pay gap (%) in EU Member States, 2010-2019 Source: (Eurofound, 2021) Note: Member States displayed left to right by magnitude of gender pay gap in 2019 (largest to smallest). 14 Figure 12. Unadjusted gender pay gap by working time (%), 2021 Source: (Eurostat, 2023f) Gender wage gaps in Croatia are especially labor force participation among women, especially wide in the lowest- and highest-paid jobs. As during their childbearing years, could affect their discussed in the previous section, among individ- access to and earnings in high-paid occupations uals with low educational attainment, women are (Robinson, 2003). In 2022, legislative changes under much less likely to find a job than men. Even when the Employment Relations Act sought to address they do, they earn on average 17 percent less than such gaps by defining “equal work” and “work of their male peers—the widest gap in the EU (Table equal value”, and by enhancing salary transparency. 2)—likely due to strong occupational segregation The impact of these changes on the gender pay (Bjelokosić, 2007). At the same time, discontinuous gap in Croatia remains to be seen. 15 Table 2. Gender wage gap by occupational wage quintile (%), EU Member States Low-paid Low-mid-paid Mid-paid Mid-high-paid High-paid EU 7 7 5 10 18 Belgium 4 5 4 3 3 Bulgaria -2 6 6 7 21 Croatia 17 11 4 7 13 Cyprus 3 6 3 5 21 Czechia 9 8 14 10 22 Denmark 5 2 6 7 15 Estonia 8 13 13 13 17 Finland 2 8 5 8 11 France 8 7 2 10 22 Germany 8 10 5 13 22 Greece 1 11 8 12 19 Hungary 7 5 5 3 21 Italy 8 10 8 15 23 Latvia 10 15 10 16 16 Lithuania 5 5 10 5 18 Luxembourg 7 6 -2 6 15 Malta 10 8 10 11 16 Netherlands 8 10 4 11 19 Poland 10 5 8 13 20 Portugal 6 12 9 10 16 Romania 4 8 13 3 11 Slovakia 10 13 15 11 24 Slovenia 12 5 3 8 11 Spain 11 6 9 12 13 Sweden 2 3 3 5 16 Source: (Eurofound, 2021) Despite overall progress in poverty reduction, unexpected expenses; afford a one-week annual holiday Croatian women still face a higher risk of poverty away from home, a meal involving meat, chicken, or fish and material deprivation than men. In 2021, nearly 22 every second day, the adequate heating of a dwelling, percent of women in Croatia lived below the national or durable goods such as a washing machine, color at-risk-of poverty line, versus 17.7 percent of men. As of television, telephone, or car; or cope with payment 2022, Croatia featured one of the widest gender gaps in arrears (e.g., on mortgage or rent, utility bills, hire material deprivation in the EU (Figure 13). Specifically, purchase instalments, or other loan payments). By more than 11 percent of women were unable to cover contrast, the share among men stood at 7.6 percent. 16 Figure 13. Material deprivation gender gap, 2022 Source: Eurostat 2023 [Tessi080] Gender disparity in energy poverty in Croatia is in energy poverty lies in the earning gap: women the starkest in the EU. In spring 2022, 32.5 percent earn less than men (including from pensions) and of Croatian women were energy poor,12 compared are thus less likely to pay their utility bills (EPVO, with 21.2 percent of men (Figure 14). The prevalence 2020). Heating system efficiency might also play of energy poverty across genders is primarily due a role. In Europe, many dwellings have outdated to inefficient housing, which accounts for about 30 boilers (Anagnostopulous and Degroote, 2016), but percent of the country's total final energy demand women are less likely than men to replace them and 40 percent of its electricity use (Robić and Ančić due to societal gender norms around home repairs 2016). A potential explanation of the gender gap (Eurofound, 2022; Scott and Clery, 2013). 12 Defined by households’ arrears on utility bills, as a proxy from a household consumption perspective. This definition omits households’ energy needs, and energy sources. Figure 14. Population in energy poverty (%), by gender, across EU Member States. Source: (Eurofound, 2022). 17 5. POWER Within the EU, Croatia’s performance on gender board members of research-funding organizations equality in political, economic, and social deci- would be women, their share was merely 14 percent sion-making power is lackluster. On the “power” in Croatia. The same pattern applies to the boards of indicator of the Gender Equality Index 2023, Croatia publicly owned broadcasting organizations, and to ranked 16th out of 27 EU Member States, despite the highest decision-making bodies of the national some progress since 2010. Similarly, the World Olympic sport organizations.16 Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) Index for 202313 placed Croatia in the mid-tier within the According to the Ombudsperson for Gender EU, in terms of the beneficial impact of laws and Equality (2022), sexist statements by public figures regulations on economic opportunities for women. are not uncommon. Such remarks contribute to the persistence of gender inequality and stereotypes. Specifically, Croatian women exert a relatively Moreover, Greblo-Jurakić, Ljubičić and Bojić-Ćaćić strong influence in the political sphere, but less (2021) showed the extent of gender stereotypes so in the economic and social domains. The in sports in Croatia.17 Across a sample of teenage proportion of seats held by women in the national handball players, the study found that 94.5 percent parliament has risen significantly, from 23.8 percent of boys and 95.6 percent of girls had experienced in 2011 to 34 percent in 2023—a level on par with the or witnessed negative stereotypes toward female EU average. Similarly, 30 percent of the members of athletes and the sports they engage in. Female regional assemblies and local municipalities were athletes were more frequently confronted with the women, a figure that is also in line with the wider belief that sport is unsuitable for women, and that EU. Nevertheless, women lack meaningful repre- women's sports lack appeal. sentation in powerful positions in the economy. Only 11 percent of board members of the Croatian The EU Directive 2022/2381 marks a positive step central bank were women, versus the EU average toward greater female representation in high-power of 28 percent. At companies listed on the Zagreb 14 positions in the economy. The directive requires Stock Exchange, women occupied only 16.7 percent that by 2027, women occupy at least 40 percent of board seats and 25.8 percent of supervisory board of the board seats of listed companies. Croatia is seats.15 Women’s power in the social domain is even obliged to transpose the directive into national law more limited. In a typical EU country 41 percent of the by December 28th, 2024. 13 The World Bank-developed Women, Business and the Law (WBL) Index offers an overview of legal barriers and support to women's participation in entrepreneurship and the workforce, based on data from 190 countries. 14 https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index/2023/domain/power/HR 15 Croatian Ombudsperson for Gender Equality's data from 2022. 16 https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index/2023/domain/power/HR 17 The research encompassed 522 teenage handball players—289 males and 233 females—with an average age of 14.75 years. 18 6. VIOLENCE The prevalence of violence against women in and sons. Violence within family and intimate rela- Croatia is the lowest in the EU. About 13 percent of tionships accounted for 64 percent of all reported Croatian women experienced physical and/or sexual criminal violence, and has steadily increased since violence from an intimate partner at some point 2015. The Ministry of the Interior reported a 39 percent in their lives—the lowest share in the EU. However, surge in cases of domestic violence in 2022 relative 4.4 percent of women believed that a husband or to 2020, with a notable rise in reported rapes within male partner is justified in beating his wife or female families or among close relations. In this context, the partner in certain circumstances, the 12th-highest number of unreported crimes may be significant, as proportion across the EU. 18 many sexual assault victims are unwilling or unable to come forward—a situation exacerbated by the Although such figures may seem relatively low, COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the number of the Ombudsperson for Gender Equality (2022) women killed by persons close to them (including highlighted a rise in violence against women at former or current intimate partners and other male the hand of close relatives, including partners family members) rose in 2021. 18 https://data.oecd.org/inequality/violence-against-women.htm Figure 15. Share of cases of family violence (as per article 179a of Criminal Code) relative to total criminal cases Source: (Ministry of Interior, 2023) 19 7. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Throughout her life, a Croatian woman builds up program, to reduce the caregiving burden on significant human capital; however, this does not women, enabling them to participate more fully appear to fully translate into positive labor-market in the labor market. Provide financial assistance outcomes, income-generation opportunities, and to family carers of elderly members to improve decision-making power. Croatian girls outperform their financial stability and overall well-being. boys in accumulating human capital during their youth, but these endowments do not seem to fully • P romote Flexible Work Arrangements and benefit women in their later professional lives or Parental Leave: Encourage employers to offer in gaining decision-making power. The female flexible working hours, telecommuting options, employment rate is among the lowest in the EU, and part-time work opportunities to support par- with a pronounced gender gap during child-bear- ents, especially during childbearing years. Reform ing years, highlight the necessity for flexible work parental leave policies to provide non-transferable arrangements and parental leaves. Additionally, leave for both mothers and fathers, incentivizing women in Croatia shoulder a notably heavy burden shared parenting responsibilities and reducing of caregiving responsibilities compared to their EU career interruptions for women. counterparts, which significantly hampers their ability to join the labor force. In the political sphere, • Combat Stereotypes and Bias: Launch public Croatian women are relatively well-represented in awareness campaigns to challenge gender ste- the national parliament and local governments. reotypes and promote the value of diversity and Nevertheless, there is considerable potential for inclusion in all spheres of society. advancement for women in economic and social areas, such as attaining more high-power positions • Support Women's Career Advancement: Enforce in companies, media, and sports. A lack of economic equal pay legislation19 and implement programs opportunities and flexible work arrangements, and incentives for companies to promote women along with social norms and stereotypes that hin- into leadership and high-power positions, including der gender parity, are among the key barriers that mentorship, sponsorship, and targeted training. Croatian women face to achieve their full potential Develop initiatives to encourage and support in the political, economic, and social spheres. women's participation in entrepreneurship and traditionally male-dominated fields such as media, To address the gender gaps in Croatia and pro- sports, and Science, Technology, Engineering, and mote gender equality, the following policy rec- Mathematics (STEM). ommendations could be considered: • S trengthen Legal Frameworks: Review and •E  nhance Access to Childcare and Elderly Care: strengthen legal protections against discrimination, Expand affordable and high-quality childcare harassment, and any form of gender-based violence. and elderly care services, such as visiting nurse 19 Article 91(2) of the Labour Act. See European Commission (2019) for national cases and good practices on equal pay. 20 REFERENCES: Bađun, M. (2023). How can we support informal DZS . (2023c). ZAPOSLENI PREMA SPOLU I carers of older people. 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