Legislative and Social Emancipation of Working Women in Croatia Under the Influence of Socialist Ideologies

Abstract

The review of the relevant publication provides an analysis of the legal, economic, and ideological- social role of women as workers in Croatia, with an emphasis on the socialist era. The introduction presents a brief overview of how women’s position in society as workers and contributors to the household budget in early Croatian history was impacted by social barriers. Furthermore, the position of women is analysed from the beginning of the Second Yugoslavia until the 1960s, when changes in legislation and society were followed by the socialist ideal of a woman as a quality worker and as a good mother. Therefore, this study addresses the question of whether the 1960s brought real positive changes for women in the social and economic segments of life or if that period marked a return to the traditional portrayal of a woman as a housewife who now carries the additional burden of a full-time worker. Finally, the analysis of the legislative and social approach to women in late socialism offers the possibility of observing today’s progress from the relatively recent socialist order that conceived the idea of women as workers. One question has persisted throughout the history of Croatian women’s emancipation in the workplace: does reality follow the law, or does it remain just a dead letter on paper?