Women in the labour market are still not equal to men, and their status has remained virtually unchanged in the last seven years, said the Ombudswoman for Gender Equality, Visnja Ljubicic, at a roundtable discussion on gender equality in the labour market organised on Wednesday by the Parliament's Gender Equality Committee.

The main problems the women encounter are linked to maternal leave, sexual harassment, and unstable working conditions, as well as a lack of measures that would ensure better work-life balance.

“When talking about unstable working conditions and fixed-term contracts, we see that the figures have been growing. Over 92 percent employment contracts are fixed-term, and women sign more than 54 percent (of them),” Ljubicic said.

The average gender pay gap is large, at 11.3 percent. “If we talk about the public sector, it goes up to 16 percent, and talking about the areas where women are significantly underrepresented, such as the health sector, social affairs, and finances, the gap can be as much as 20 percent,” she said.

She said that the number of sexual harassment cases was increasing. “We hear exclusively from women, and the unstable working conditions are what leads to the increase in sexual harassment,” she said, adding that some women encounter requests for sexual favours in exchange for keeping their jobs.

The legal adviser in the Croatian Workers’ Trade Union Organisation (HURS), Katarina Perkovic, said that the most vulnerable people in the labour market are pregnant women and mothers.

“Our legal framework is fantastic, but in a situation where the labour market is completely unstable, and when fixed-term employment is the norm, it is impossible to protect mothers and pregnant women from dismissal. Once their fixed-term contract expires, it is not extended, and they are left unprotected,” Perkovic said.

Follow N1 via mobile apps for Android | iPhone/iPad | Windows| and social media on Twitter | Facebook.