World Bank: Poor childcare keeps Romanian women out of work
Romania is falling behind other Eastern European EU member states in some areas that influence the gender gap, found a recent report by the World Bank. Childcare, vital to allowing women access to employment, is particularly poor in Romania. The authors of the report suggest better childcare and more “sensible” maternity leave policy would help. This is an area where Romania is well behind the pack. Only around 3 percent of Romanian under four are enrolled in childcare, well below the 13 percent average for the region and miles behind the 35 percent in Western Europe. Only around half Romanian women go on maternal leave, as the benefits are low and they fear losing their job. From 2011, the parental leave in Romania is of one year.
Improvements in education are also recommended in the World Bank report, with gender imbalances at the secondary and tertiary levels righted. The report also stresses the need to address “the pockets of health disparities that remain in individual countries of the region.”
Life expectancy in Romania has climbed steadily by about two years every five years since 1990 and currently stands at 77.2 years for women and 70.3 years for men. This puts Romania a little above the median value for the region. The difference in life expectancy between men and women is also about average for the region. In education, lower rates of university attendance were found amongst men. The report also underlines large gender gaps in basic school enrollment in ethnic minorities, and explicitly gives the Roma people as an example. Romania has one of Europe’s biggest Roma populations.
The report also draws attention to changing demographics, stating that by 2025 the elderly population in the region will rise from 15 to 25 percent of total population and that nearly 60 percent of the elderly will be women. In Romania the percentage of the population over 60 will rise from around 20 percent now to nearly 40 percent in 2050.
The report, which looks at emerging (or eastern Europe) and central Asia, highlights some areas of concern in health, education, salaries and opportunity. It suggests that despite a strong history of promoting equal opportunities for men and women, the region is now beginning to fall behind.
When looking at employment, the report found that the changing job market offered increasing opportunities for women and often diminishing prospects in jobs traditionally held by men. In spite of the increase in opportunities, average wages for women are 20 percent lower than for men in the EU 10 (which includes Romania). This is much better than other parts of the region, in the western Balkans men earn on average over 40 percent more than women.
Commenting on the findings, Sarosh Sattar, World Bank Senior Economist and the main author of the report, said, “The region’s advantage in gender equality has eroded, and the region now looks more similar to the rest of the world. This has happened because the rest of the world is catching up, critical services such as childcare have been significantly cut back, and some new gender disparities have emerged in the region.”
Outlined in the report are a series of recommendations to tackle gender inequality and implement gender-blind policies. However, it also states the importance of recognizing inherent differences between men and women in policy. “While aiming to achieve equal opportunity among men and women, we must not forget that men and women differ,” said Sarosh Sattar.
See the full report here.
Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com
(photo source: Photoxpress.com)
