The non-governmental organisation B.a.B.e has launched a new project to raise awareness of work-life balance among women and men. It is based on research which shows that women lead the way with 31.5% working shifts and 27% fail to progress in their careers due to family commitments.

“The aim of the project is to sensitise the population, employers and decision-makers to the importance of changing traditional gender roles, achieving gender equality and changing inadequate public policies to improve the quality of family life,” said project manager Tamara Sterk.

The objectives also include curbing negative demographic trends, promoting greater participation of women in the labour market and helping employers to retain a high-quality workforce in Croatia.

Missed opportunities due to family commitments

All available data confirms that balancing family and work commitments is one of the biggest obstacles to higher employment and career advancement for women, according to Sterk.

According to research conducted as part of the project on the impact of public policies on the quality of family and work life and on Croatia’s demographic situation, worth €80,000 and carried out from 2020 to 2023, women dominate in shift work (31.5% compared to 22% of men), which further complicates the reconciliation of professional obligations and childcare for women.

Due to family commitments, 27% of women and 13% of men estimate that they have missed out on opportunities for career advancement or better jobs.

In addition, 65% of mothers are most likely to take sick leave when a child is ill, compared to 6% of fathers.

Housework is 90 to 97 per cent done by women. When it comes to making shopping lists, women lead with 58% compared to 6% of men. When it comes to daily meal planning, women take part with 69% and men with 4%. When it comes to encouraging other family members to take on housework, 6% of men and 49% of women do so.

A large number of women interrupt their work to look after other dependent household members or relatives

When it comes to managing the children’s leisure plans, organising birthdays and meetings with other children, and planning medical appointments for the children, this is done by women in 53 to 67 percent of cases and by men in two to three percent.

The same applies to communication with schools and daycare centres (62% of women and 5% of men) and monitoring children’s success at school, which is done by men in 2% of cases and by women in 41% of cases. Four to five per cent of men and 29 to 59 per cent of women take the lead in remembering the birthdays of family and friends and maintaining family relationships.

In the case of family conflicts, women are the first to try to “defuse” the situation in 25% of cases, men in 21% and both in 53%.

The study conducted by the Faculty of Sociology at the University of Zadar, in which 3,600 people took part, shows that the household chore that is done almost equally by women and men is paying the bills (37% of women, 35% of men and in 27% of cases a joint task).

Sterk says that in addition to traditional gender roles, the reasons for the imbalance in childcare and care include the lack of organised care and public services and the fact that many women take time off work or work part-time to care for other dependent household members or relatives.