Human resources and gender equality in education of the Western Balkans

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Human resources and gender equality in education of the Western Balkans

Mitar V. Lutovac , Bojana Ostojic

Предмет данного исследование - это усиление управления персоналом, и в частности, гендерного равенства. Цель исследования состоит в попытке понять проблему гендерного равенства и провести параллель с факторами, сопровождающими этот процесс. Высокая степень неравенства указывает на существование институциональных и структурных факторов, влияющих на данную ситуацию в обществе. Наличие женщин в рабочем процессе, предрассудки против них, и желание мужчин видеть женщин на равных позициях, являются основой данной проблемы. Для устранения проблемы неравенства необходима совместная работа. Требуются координальные изменения, такие государственный контроль системы образования, а также, определение поведенческих различий между мужчиной и женщиной. Четкая структурная модель, описывающая различия ролей и ответственности в образовательной системе может улучшить ситуацию гендерного равенства. Методологически основанный анализ будет начальным стимулирующим фактором, относящимся к активации элементов стратегии с целью строительства и развития прав человека и равенства полов в сфере образования на Западных Балканах, что позволит добиться равенства государств в данной сфере. Соответствующие стратегические планы являются приоритетными целями в будущем.

Ключевые слова: персонал, гендерное равенство, образование, лидерство, контроль.

The subject of this work is to strengthen the impact of human resource management and gender equality. The main objective of this paper is to understand the problem of gender equality and its equalization with identification of important factors that accompany this process. High degree of inequality points out to the existence of institutional and structural factors that influence such situation in our society. Willingness of men to include women, the process of inclusion and the prejudice against women are at the heart of this problem. The connection and unity to overcome the adverse effects of inequality is needed. As already presented, fundamental changes are required such as monitoring state of the education system as well as the identification of behavioral differences between men and women. The base of data on the division of roles and responsibilities in the educational system would make process better for genders equality. By following equality between states, methodologically grounded analysis will be the initial stimulating factor relevant to the activation of elements of the strategy with aim of building and developing human rights and gender-equal potential in the education of the Westem Balkans. Appropriate strategic plans are priority objectives in the future.

Keywords: human resources, gender equality, education, leadership, monitoring.

To understand the concept of gender equality, it is necessary to make a distinction between the terms “sex” and “gender”. Sex refers to the biological differences between women and men. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, position and status of women and men in public and private life from which discrimination of the biological affiliation with a particular gender occurs.

The way a society sees the role of women and men and what each expects of them depends on many factors: cultural, political, economical, social and religious. They are equally influenced by customs, law, class, ethnicity, as well as prejudices rampant in a given society. Attitudes and behaviour towards gender are learned and can be changed [1]. Biological differences between men and women are generally universal, but the roles and responsibilities that they are attributed to differ between cultures, societies and historical periods.

Gender equality means equal presence, strength and participation of both sexes in all spheres of public and private life. The principle of gender equality and non-discrimination is one of the fundamental principles of human rights, but in spite of this gender inequality is present in most segments of social life. Equality of rights does not automatically guarantee an equal position.

This paper discusses models of integration of a gender perspective and gender dimensions of the university education.

The concept of gender equality

In modern societies, especially in the transition such as ours, university imposes obligations to their activities, change of the social context and a promoter of new social values. One of these values is a gender equality, which means that men and women have the same rights and the ability to “use” equal treatment of state in all spheres of life, and also that women and men have equal status and equal conditions for the realization of its potential to contribute to the political, economical, social and cultural development of their countries and benefit from the results [2] (Mrљeviж, ed., 2002: 11-30). Gender equality is an indicator of the achieved level of human rights, universal standard of civil society, which is one of the basic principles of democracy and the key determinant of the development strategy of society in the 21st century, where “the achievement of democracy presupposes the existence of genuine partnership between men and women in the conduct of business of which they work in equality and complementarity, drawing mutual enrichment from their differences ” [3] (Art. 4 Universal Declaration on Democracy, Cairo, 16 September, 1997).

Given that university education is one of the powerful instruments of social development, the achievement of gender equality, it is necessary to integrate a gender perspective into the curricula, and promotion of women in higher education. That would ensure the full participation of women as citizens in all areas of social development, improve access of women, particularly in developing countries, higher education and the possibility of highly qualified women to participate in the process of making important decisions in society [4] (World Declaration on Higher Education for the Twenty - first Century, Vision and Action. UNESCO, Paris, 1998, p. 9-12).

One of the most important documents in the field of “engendering education” is the Recommendation on gender equality in education by 1995, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [5] (Recommendation 1281 (1995) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on gender equality in education). The key concept and strategy of this document, gave new impetus reflections on education in the 21st century and its role in the “new social contract” between men and women (new social contract between women and men (2002): The Role of Education, Council of Europe , Strasbourg) is “gender mainstreaming”.

This new strategy of action based on specific methodologies, techniques and tools aims to reorganize, improve, develop and evaluate the process of public policy making, with goal of gender equality perspective to be incorporated in all policies at all levels and at all stages. We should also mention the work plan for correcting the current imbalance between the participation of men and women in political life, which was adopted by the Interplanetary Council in 1994, where the section on Education recommended that all educational material should be studied, in order to eliminate any messages to give or suggest the picture of men's superiority over women. In addition, it is recommended that the lectures devote special attention to promotion of equality between men and women and the concept of parity and partnership [2] (Mrљeviж, 2002, p.65).

On similar ideas is also based the Recommendation CM/Rec(2007)13 about the gender mainstreaming in education, which was adopted in 2007 by the Committee of Ministers to member states [6] (Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member states on gender mainstreaming in education adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 10 October 2007 and its explanatory memorandum, 2007). In this paper, we start with a few important facts. First of all, the performance of male and female nature as a model for assigning social roles that shape our societies are copied to the school, so that the elimination of formal discrimination is not sufficient social and political act, where the education system is an engine of de facto equality. On the other hand, there is no doubt that the stereotypical social gender roles limit opportunities for women and men to realize their potential, achieve equality that requires positive and dynamic partnership between the sexes which leads to structural changes at all levels, and finally the new social order. In this sense, it addresses the responsibility of the education system to educate a student /students to actively participate in various aspects of democratic life, such as political, civil, social, cultural, in addition to all levels: local, regional and national. Given that teachers may be mediators of gender inequality as well as drivers of social change, it is the inclusion of educational institutions in the promotion of gender equality. Therefore, the Recommendation emphasizes that equality between women and men, and the gender perspective must be included in all levels of education, from the early age of girls and boys to women and men that instigated the value and justice necessary for the effective and active democratic citizenship, building a true partnership between women and men in the private and public spheres [6] (Preamble to the Recommendation CM / Rec (2007) 13 on gender mainstream in education. general. cit., p. 2). Accordingly, countries are especially encouraged to: analyse their legislation and practices in order to apply the strategies and measures listed in the Recommendation and its accompanying appendix; to promote and encourage measures aimed specifically at introducing gender-tailored policies at all levels of education as well as teacher training in order to achieve de facto gender equality. They are also encouraged to improve the quality of education and to create mechanisms in the educational process that will be used for the promotion, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of gender custom policies in schools.

From the perspective of higher education, they are especially important recommendations concerning the “engendering” of educational programs, including the introduction of a gender dimension into educational programs; Education about the private life to do an integral part of curricula, in order to overcome sexist stereotypes and young people prepare for the new gender partnerships in the private and public life [6] (Appendix to Recommendation CM / Rec (2007) 13, t. 24th and 27th).

An important document in this area at the national level is the Draft National Strategy for Improving the Status of Women and Enhancing Gender Equality (2008-2014) which contains a special section devoted to achieving gender equality in education. This document, among other things, should promote the study of gender issues and the status of women through specific research programs, promote integration of modern knowledge about gender relations in various scientific disciplines, to include women experts and scholars, as well as all those who are scientific issues of gender in mainstream scientific research (items. 123 Strategy). The Draft National Strategy specifically emphasizes that the overcoming of traditional patriarchal models and modern understanding of gender and gender roles needs to strengthen the capacity of the education system. Realization of this goal involves a change of curricula, training teachers to better understand and support the new conception of gender relations, the inclusion of the less represented gender in the institutions that create and lead education policy and others. (items. 124). In addition, the Draft National Strategy foresees the introduction of the use of gender sensitive language in educational programs, establishment of programs for gender studies in interested schools and providing assistance with the incorporation of gender studies in the higher education.

Women's / Gender Studies

One way of integrating a gender perspective into university curricula is the establishment of women's studies, which are “as the broadest intellectual motivation of women to answer the question and riddle their inequality” [8] (Papic, 1989, p. 17-32), received in the early seventies its institutional form and status, but in the last ten years started to form in most European universities.

Women's / Gender Studies, as an academic, interdisciplinary approach to the analysis of the status of women and gender relations, due to its interdisciplinary and multicultural nature are viewed as the driver of critical awareness of European social. Therefore, those in the EU gained an increasingly social and institutional importance. Sense to promote them is contained in the fundamental goals of women's studies, to promote research by women, for women, and on women. Women's Studies as a powerful educational innovation, managed to “sneak” into the academic environment and become equal topics of interest. [8] (Papic, 1989, p.21). For its methodological and theoretical goals, women's / gender studies were designed as an interdisciplinary academic program in which the focus of gender studies, research dichotomous categorization, such as masculine / feminine, public / private, nature / culture, is extremely significant gender analysis of power, with gender dimensions of all other disciplines. The goal of these studies is to gather women as a group with the same social experience, with knowledge of themselves, their own history and social status, as well as politics or ideology of gender, which, through cultural attitudes, values and assumptions permeates all human relationships.

Summarized, in women's / gender studies, women's centre epistemological questioning, or to paraphrase one of the many definitions as “the study of women about women for women.” Women's / gender studies have a significant impact on a society outside of the education system, “targeting”, from their specific educational matrix of existing power relations, system of values, policies and legislation societies themselves.

Affirmation of women's / gender studies is part of the modern trends of higher education in Europe, which is particularly important for the Western Balkans, and are only included in the reform processes of university education. In many university institutions, they are recognized and accepted not only as an academic discipline, but as a critical source of knowledge to other scientific disciplines, contemporary theories and studies. Countries in transition have also organized women's / gender studies within the university units (Russia, Ukraine, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, etc..) One of the more fundamental indicators of the importance of having EU women's / gender studies, as a rule, is a funding from the state budget in the ratio of 70% to 100%, and only a small part of the self- financed are themselves seeking funding sources [9] (SIGMA the Netherlands Women's Studies Report by Willy Jansen and Jose van Aalst. Centre of Women's Studies of Antwerp. Belgium, http: //www.uia.ac.be/women /sigma/nl.html).

In Serbia since the beginning of the nineties of the twentieth century, implementation of alternative programs, particularly women's studies and gender studies started. These programs are organized differently in different cities (Belgrade, Nis, Novi Sad) as separate courses at the Centre for Women's Studies, as well as elective courses at undergraduate level or postgraduate, master's and doctoral programs. It should be noted, however, that there is not a university institution that gender studies is viewed as a distinct field of study.

In addition to women's / gender studies, there are many different forms of gender sensitization of university education. When it comes to law schools, an important part of women's / gender studies are of legal clinics, as well as the form and method of training a student / those in the legal skills, but also as a highly effective educational method for overcoming the prejudices and discriminatory practices of future legal professionals. The process of education and training is carried out within a wide range of “two-way” knowledge of the legal profession, theoretical and practical, of the complex phenomenon of gender equality and the problems of marginalized social groups [10](Dalton, 1995, p.7).

gender inequality society

Case Study

Faculty Mediterranean - Tivat

College was officially founded in 2009. Today, college has about 500 students / activists, 58 teachers /for and 99 associates / ca. Since its inception, the college has not had a rector. Of the total number of teachers 20% are women, but the gender distribution is uneven among individual subjects (3 - 50%)

Table 1 - Structure of employees at the Faculty of Med

Out of seven members of the Faculty Council only two of them are women, and among the student representative and in the government situation is even worse where two representatives of student organizations are both male. These data only indicate that Montenegro still prevents women alongside future with their male counterparts, however the progress is evident.

BiH

If we consider the statistics in BiH, according to the number of women and men in society, we can talk about respect for gender equality in enrolment and participation in the education system. But, at the university level, there are still more employed men than women, while the figure of about 20% assistants indicates that there could be a change in the coming years. According to data, at the University of Banja Luka, among the administrative boards we can still count more men as well as in the Senate and among professors emeritus. Jobs at the university seeks long-term and continuous education which may affect the planning of marriage and family, where our society still has a prevalent opinion that the first role of women is to be a wife and a mother.

University of Belgrade

Belgrade University was officially founded in 1905 as a high school for the 1808 year. Today, the University of Belgrade has 31 faculties, 11 institutes, and over 90,000 students / activists, teachers in 2836/2097 and ca associates /ca (University of Belgrade, 2009).

Since its founding, the University of Belgrade had only one rector in the period immediately after the democratic changes from 2000 to 2005. Of the total number of teachers 30% were women, except the distribution is uneven among the various faculties (6 - 60%) in the natural sciences, engineering and computer science is dominated by men, while philology, chemistry, biology and pharmacology are more female professions. An increased number of women in biomedical and other faculties (architecture) is a consequence of the development of private practice, which provides a better return for men, while women remain at colleges primarily as teachers. Such a high percentage of women among teaching staff at universities in Serbia is a part of the fading echoes of the socialist period.

Out of the 21 members of the Council of the University of Belgrade only eight of them are women, and among the representatives of the students and the government the situation is even worse: with five representatives of student organizations in the Council four students are male and one student a female, the same attitude among government officials.

In the Senate of the University out of the five members of the Rector's Collegiate (rector and vice-rectors), there is only one woman in the Senate, three women as dean of the faculty and only one director of the institute. Presidents of the group, a very important institution that conducts scientific policy at the University of Belgrade, are all men (University of Belgrade, 2009).

Serbia

According to the Statistical Office of Serbia, the number of students enrolled in primary and secondary education by gender from 1991 to 2002 did not change significantly, although it can be observed a slight trend in favor of the female population: in 1991, primary, secondary and higher education included about 51% of female children while in 2002 it was slightly higher, about 53%. In Serbia, women in all age groups have mainly primary and secondary education: over 60% [11] (Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia 2006, 2008).

In the last decade of the 20th century, the situation in higher education seems to have changed in favour of women. 1998 among graduates in Serbia, on average, were 60% female. The percentage of women with MAs increased from 45% in 1998 to 47% in 2000, while those with a doctorate from 37% up to 57%. Unfortunately, this was not the result of gender-sensitive and anti-discriminatory education policies, but rather the result of wars waged the nineties and the fact that a large number of young educated people left the country; time has been changed to then present proportions in gender representation at the highest scientific titles. In the period after the democratic changes and entering into a period of transition, continued gimmicky trend of feminization of higher education in Serbia. The percentage of women who in 2002 graduated from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in Serbia has slightly increased (59%: 65% in favor of the study of art), but again there was a decrease in the share of women in the graduate education: the total female master's degrees (32.6%) was two times less than that of men (67.4%), and the difference was even more pronounced in the case of PhDs: women 30.4% while men 69.6%. The situation changed again in the period from 2002-2005, the number of women who have a Masters degree increased to 51.6% of those who completed the various forms of specialization to 56.1%, a doctoral dissertation defended between 43 to 55.4% women (at least in the field of natural and technical sciences, mainly in the humanities and social sciences). In the period from 1990 to 2007. There was an increase in the number of women employed in academic institutes from 45.2% to 52.4% (Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, 2008). Again, this unfortunately is not an indicator of gender emancipation in science, but rather an indication of the phenomenon observed in other areas, so-called. Feminization of the profession: the social status of the profession is falling, men are leaving, the number of women in a given profession continues to lose not only the status, but primarily an economic strength. So it is ideal to take up science and education in society today in Serbia, but also at the global level [12] (Thom, 2001).

In the last two decades, from 1990 - 2007, the number of students enrolled in Serbia has almost doubled, but there was a significant decline in the number of students enrolled in technical and natural sciences in relation to social and humanistic: only the University of Belgrade 2008th the number of students enrolled in technical and technological sciences amounted to 31.7% in humanities and social 45.8, biomedical (including traditionally “female” faculties, as a pharmaceutical, for example) 14.3% and natural science only 7.6% (Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, 2008). This is probably one of the reasons why in this period there was an increased the number of female students who have acquired master's degree or PhD degree. However, in general, in the period from 1990 to 2006. The number of girls enrolled in the graduate studies has increased from 35% to 50%, depending on the faculty, and the percentage of those who have a Masters degree, or a PhD degree specializing showed a steady increase from 40.4 to 45.7% of masters and 28 , from 7 to 41.6% of PhDs, while the percentage of female students enrolled in the specialist did not change: 52-53%. This growth is certainly a consequence of the fact that an academic career in Serbia today is not a prestigious occupation anymore, and women are just entering the empty space that the men were left behind, until they turn profitable professions - business or private practice [11,13] (Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia in 2008; Popovic 2004).

According to the number of women with the highest level of education, Serbia (1.07) is behind all European countries, with Romania (1.4) and Turkey (1.1), far below the average for the EU (2.1). There are still only 5.3% of the total number of women who are educated that acquire the highest level of education [13] (Popovic, 2004). In addition, certain occupations in education today are clear gender split: women dominate as teachers in primary schools (71.8%), while men in colleges (70.6%) (Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, 2008). On the highest academic level, since the establishment of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 1887, the presidents of the SASA, and there were twenty, there were no women, and 2006 in all departments of the Academy of women on average been below 6%. The distribution was very uneven: the department of technical and social sciences did not have a single member in the departments of mathematics, physics, earth sciences, chemistry and biological sciences and medical science was of 2.4-5.9% of women in departments of language and literature, for the arts and music and historical sciences 9.5 - 13.5% of women.

Positions of power and decision making in education and science in Serbia are still firmly in the hands of the stronger sex [14] [15](Popovic, 2004; SANU 2008).

Conclusion

The main issue of education in the 19th century and early 20th century is whether the current structure and content of education should be made available to women. In the 19th century, discussion was on whether the female mind and body “by nature” is given to devote to an intellectual work. For sixty years of the twentieth century “problem” was the education of the women who are married, have a family and fully retreated from the intellectual life. These issues of women's education in the West, and another in the East, it contextually different, but ultimately devastating consequences for the status of women in society, remained in the area started many discussions. Rather than talk about them, they are left in beyond the influence of social development, because the fact of his possible dismissal, the wing core of politics and social power.

“Why women after marrying up their career?”, “why is the unmarried and those without children?”, “why so few ones are at the forefront of intellectual life?”, “why are at the bottom of the scale of the institutional hierarchy in education, in which the position of an elite education and academic institutions?” are some of the questions that are being asked only then women start looking for answers. Between the women's movement and the decades long struggle for women's rights and against discrimination of women in the legal and institutional sense of things moving and get a completely different place and importance. This path is the path from rhetoric to a reality.

In modern societies, especially in the transition, such as ours, the university imposes obligations to the work and content that provides products and changing social context and a “modeller” promoter of social values. One of these values is gender equality. Models of integrating a gender perspective and gender dimensions of university education (gender sensitization of university education) can vary.

Today, the demand for fundamental reform of the universities in our country and the introduction of European standards concerning the democratization of society in general and to promote gender equality policy, involves the inclusion of women's studies in university teaching at both the undergraduate and at the graduate level after. The project of introducing women's studies in university programs directly to improving the status of women in higher education, but is also a key starting point for the creation of a modern, democratic, undiscriminating higher education system. Awareness of gender issues and respect the right of difference will affect the impact on the new generation of democratically conscious educated women and men who will be the bearers of social change and the creators of a new society on the foundations of democracy and human rights.

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