ZAGREB, March 8, 2019 – The under-representation of women in politics is considered a symptom of an unhealthy democracy and a crisis of political representation, a round table on women’s equality in politics and society, organised by the Social Democratic Party (SDP), was told in Zagreb on Thursday.
In the 1980s, the last decade of the socialist system in Croatia, the proportion of women in parliament ranged between 13 and 17 percent. In the early 1990s, their share dropped to between four and seven percent as a result of the retraditionalisation of society, the head of the SDP Women’s Forum, Maja Sporiš, said at the round table, organised ahead of International Women’s Day which is observed on March 8.
The proportion of women in the Croatian parliament increased again following the 2000 election, reaching between 18 and 21 percent and staying at that level over the next 15 years. In 2015, their proportion fell to 15 percent and in 2016 to 12.5 percent.
Sporiš said that the present share of 20 percent was the result of male candidates withdrawing to take government positions and women, positioned at the bottom of election slates, moving up to fill their positions in parliament.
She noted that European average of women’s representation in national parliaments was 28 percent and the global average was slightly over 23 percent.
Sporiš said that, compared with 2013, the number of female municipal councillors increased the most, by over 10 percent, the number of female town councillors rose by 4 percent and that of county councillors by about 6 percent. None of the present county prefects is a woman, and the number of female county deputy prefects has increased by 7 percent from 2013.
In 2017, of the total of 555 mayors, only 50, or 9 percent, were women.
More news on the status of women in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.
