Discrimination of Women in Management Positions in Politics in Croatia - The Case of Political Participation in Government Management between 1990 and 2016

An academic study examining whether women's representation in Croatian government management positions increased between 1990 and 2016, comparing Croatia to neighbouring Slovenia and to the average of the 28 EU member states.

To test whether the share of women in the Croatian executive branch grew over time, whether women were confined to 'soft' portfolios (family, culture, education), and how Croatia's figures compare with Slovenia and the EU-28 average.

The authors analysed the composition of 13 Croatian governments from 1990 to 2016, recorded which ministerial portfolios were held by women, and compared the resulting figures with Slovenia and with EU-28 averages.

The share of women in Croatia's executive branch did not show the expected increase over the period, except for a 2009-2011 stretch when a woman headed the government; women held portfolios beyond family/culture/education, including finance, construction and defence; Slovenia's female representation in government was substantially higher than Croatia's over the same period, and Croatia's share of women in government fell below the EU-28 average.

The authors conclude that political discrimination against women in Croatian government management persists despite protective legislation, attributing this to traditional views of women's roles rather than to the legal framework, and argue that achieving gender equality requires wider societal and political-party engagement.