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Each election year in Croatia is an occasion for comparing the social guidelines & the practice. To what extent is the policy of gender equality applied to the participation of women in political decision-making at the parliamentary level in Croatia? Modest results are not an exception: almost in all countries there is the gap between the two. Nevertheless, the extent of the participation in older democratic countries is on the average somewhat higher, which can be attributed to the influence of the egalitarian concept of gender roles & the proportional electoral system. In younger democratic countries, including Croatia, the average is somewhat lower due to the significance of socio-economic factors. In some countries a higher level of participation can for the time being be achieved only via the mechanisms of affirmative action i.e. quotas. Therefore, for Croatia it is essential to achieve the "critical mass" of women in its parliament, which can be brought about by introducing quotas at the party level, by democratic selective procedures of nominating candidates, & by putting up candidates of both genders on the party lists, which means that the highest percentages of women in the parliament can be expected from modern parties promoting the deliberate regulation of the above processes. References. Adapted from the source document.

The regimes created after the collapse of communism are based on the belief that the liberal-democratic political system & the market economy are a sufficient guarantee for the personal prosperity & the proclaimed political equality of all individuals. Practice, however, shows that this is not so & that, when women are concerned, only an "intervention" via a variety of support mechanisms enables the realization of equal opportunities. This is true both for the field of politics & employment. European policies offer a number of solutions, tested in Croatia & within the project "Attitudes of employers in the employment of women." The findings show that the attitudes concerning women at the workplace are more modern than those regarding their role in the family. Also, the support mechanisms in the employment of women & the performance of women at their workplace are selectively accepted. Women are still perceived as employees optimally linked to the traditional female professions & the mid-level executive posts in companies. The gender differences are the sole criterion on which employers base their attitudes, which leads to the conclusion that the problems of women in society are still not recognized as communal. 6 Tables, 12 Graphs, 12 References. Adapted from the source document.

The regimes created after the collapse of communism are based on the belief that the liberal-democratic political system & the market economy are a sufficient guarantee for the personal prosperity & the proclaimed political equality of all individuals. Practice, however, shows that this is not so & that, when women are concerned, only an "intervention" via a variety of support mechanisms enables the realization of equal opportunities. This is true both for the field of politics & employment. European policies offer a number of solutions, tested in Croatia & within the project "Attitudes of employers in the employment of women." The findings show that the attitudes concerning women at the workplace are more modern than those regarding their role in the family. Also, the support mechanisms in the employment of women & the performance of women at their workplace are selectively accepted. Women are still perceived as employees optimally linked to the traditional female professions & the mid-level executive posts in companies. The gender differences are the sole criterion on which employers base their attitudes, which leads to the conclusion that the problems of women in society are still not recognized as communal. 6 Tables, 12 Graphs, 12 References. Adapted from the source document.

The changes in the social position of women in transitional countries is the consequence of the latest economic & political changes in the countries of Central & Eastern Europe. Croatians think that the social position of women today is worse than in the former regime; in this, women are more critical than men, particularly well-educated women, working outside the home (modernists). Those who believe that the position of women today is better than it used to comprise a smaller group; they believe that a woman's place is primarily in the home, that the church should have a decisive say in the position of women, that women are not born for politics, & that pro-choice attitudes should not be tolerated. Women should resolve their dissatisfaction with their lives & social position by choosing either the modern or the traditional variant, or a middle path, which has been suggested by the logic of the newly created living conditions. 8 Tables, 2 Graphs, 9 References. Adapted from the source document.

Despite the process of feminization that has swept through the journalist profession, on Croatian TV screens, there are 50% fewer women than men; women are 50% less often the focus of attention; they are more often on the afternoon shows; & during prime time, they usually make cameo appearances. The topics that women deal with are mostly of general interest, connected with entertainment, art, media, or medicine -- a far cry from the dominant male topic, which is politics. This is paralleled by the specific occupations of the two sexes, usually signaling a significantly lower social status of women than of men. 19 References. Adapted from the source document.

The central features of the political "profile" of European women at the beginning of this decade were a diminished interest in politics, infrequent inclusion of political topics in private conversations, & decreased willingness to adopt a political option. Compared to other European countries, Croatia projects an entirely different image: a pronounced interest of women in politics, very similar to that of men! This partly proves the "law" that a rise in level of education, working outside home, & middle age are the catalysts for women's desire to enter the world of politics. The transition, the war, & the "legacy" of socialist ideology account for this massive public interest in politics & the much lessened gender differences. 14 Tables, 5 References. Adapted from the source document.

Despite the process of feminization that has swept through the journalist profession, on Croatian TV screens, there are 50% fewer women than men; women are 50% less often the focus of attention; they are more often on the afternoon shows; & during prime time, they usually make cameo appearances. The topics that women deal with are mostly of general interest, connected with entertainment, art, media, or medicine -- a far cry from the dominant male topic, which is politics. This is paralleled by the specific occupations of the two sexes, usually signaling a significantly lower social status of women than of men. 19 References. Adapted from the source document.

The central features of the political "profile" of European women at the beginning of this decade were a diminished interest in politics, infrequent inclusion of political topics in private conversations, & decreased willingness to adopt a political option. Compared to other European countries, Croatia projects an entirely different image: a pronounced interest of women in politics, very similar to that of men! This partly proves the "law" that a rise in level of education, working outside home, & middle age are the catalysts for women's desire to enter the world of politics. The transition, the war, & the "legacy" of socialist ideology account for this massive public interest in politics & the much lessened gender differences. 14 Tables, 5 References. Adapted from the source document.

A major role of political parties in a multiparty democratic system is to encourage equal opportunities of men & women with the aim of realizing full democracy. Among the parliamentary parties in Croatia, we can distinguish between those who can see no reason whatsoever to pay special attention to this issue, considering it settled, & those who advocate the need for & continuity of promoting women's rights. In an analysis of party attitudes on that issue, the following model was used: a dimension whose extremes are state intervention & self-regulation. It was linked with the dimension of the continuum modernism-traditionalism. Thus we get a four-field chart. The first field includes the traditionalist political parties (HDZ, HSS, & HSP) who view the social position of women as a result of a spontaneous development of the society in general; ie, they accept the rule of self-regulation. In the second, for the time being empty, there would be parties that strive for social regulation in the realization of traditional social values. The next field is complementarily shared by modern political parties inclined to self-regulation (HNS, HSLS, HND, SNS, IDS, DA) & those who advocate state regulation of the mentioned issue (SDP & ASH). The analysis of the attitude toward women in party organization shows the following: (1) low percentage of women among party rank-&-file, regardless of a party's nature; & (2) "the rule" that the higher the level of political decision making, the lower the number of women. 3 Tables, 27 References. Adapted from the source document.

The paper deals with the factors that determine the scope of the participation of women in parliamentary decision making. That scope depends, on the one hand, on the self-organization of women (in the US), & on the other, on the intervention of political agencies (the state, as is the case in socialist countries, or political parties, as is the case in Western democracies). Without either, the percentage of women participating in politics is drastically reduced (which happened in the countries in transition). 1 Table, 2 Graphs, 12 References. Adapted from the source document.