Female senior executives are as rare as the white raven in Hungary and Romania
The European Institute for Gender Equality draws up an annual report on gender equality. The Gender Equality Index scores 27 countries on a scale of 1 to 100, with a score of 100 on the scale for total gender equality. Six main areas are examined: work, money, knowledge, time, power and health.
The health and economic shock of Covid-19 has also shed more light on the economic situation of people and the appropriate links to the health care system. The report states, based on media reports and reports from women’s rights organizations, that
at the time of the epidemic, women’s exposure to relationship violence increased as a result of greater scale.
There are no reports of national rates of violence against women in Romania and Hungary, because there are simply no comparable data at EU level.
As a result of the epidemic, the situation of women living in Romania and Hungary has deteriorated
Eurostat report on the pay gap Reading, the picture can be drawn from Romania, which performs outstandingly in terms of gender pay, as it has the smallest pay gap between the countries after Luxembourg. In this respect, however, Hungary is among the last in the rankings.
However, if we look at the Gender Equality Index survey, which examines the gender gap in several complex ways, it turns out that Romania is far from performing as well as we might think at first – and Hungary is not. The two countries scored 53 and 54 points out of a hundred in 2021, respectively, so they were both ranked next to European countries at the end of the ranking.
Gender inequality is most pronounced in positions of power
The gender gap has not only not narrowed in recent years, but has even widened. In the case of Romania, this index is 34.7 points, and Hungary is even worse with its 22.9 points.
In terms of the ratio of women to men, the deepest gap in Hungary was in the filling of positions of power. The low participation rate is ensured by the low participation rate of women in political, economic and other key areas. Hungary was last in the ranking in 2015 and has been stuck there ever since. Gender inequalities have also become more pronounced in the decision-making positions of the economic sphere.
Perhaps the most striking inequality in politics is that in Hungary, 80% of ministers, 87% of members of parliament, and 86% of local and county councils are men. The situation is worse only in the economic sphere: the proportion of members of the largest listed companies, supervisory boards or boards of directors and male members of the board of directors of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank is 89 percent in Hungary.
For the first time, the Gender Equality Index presents data on research organizations, the media and sport. There were no women in Hungary among the board members of research funding organizations. The proportion of women on the decision-making bodies of national Olympic sports organizations is just 11%, which is close to what we have seen in economic decision-making positions. The proportion of men on the boards of public service broadcasters is “only” 71 percent.
In terms of the gender distribution of power, Romania has fallen from 18th to 21st place in the EU rankings, down by 2.8 points in this category by 2018. Romania has the largest gender gap in economic decision-making, with the country ranking penultimate in the EU at just 19 points. That is, the proportion of board members in the largest companies, supervisory board, or board of directors is 84 percent. There were no women on the Board of the National Bank of Romania.
The situation is no better in the case of the Romanian government, the country has a single female minister, which is 5% in proportion. The proportion of parliamentary and local members of parliament is not much different from that of Hungary, with a female presence of only 20%. 28 percent of board members of public service broadcasters are women. Among economic decision-makers, 16 percent of the members of the largest listed companies, supervisory boards, or boards of directors are women.
However, unlike in Hungary, the board members of research funding organizations can only detect a difference of 5 percent (in favor of men). However, only 11 percent of the members of the decision-making bodies of the national Olympic sports organizations were women.
Men believe they are healthier than women, but this is not the case in any country. The situation is slightly better in Hungary
From a health perspective, the report shed light on three aspects: health status, health behaviors, and access to health services. Health status examines the differences in life expectancy between women and men, as well as self-esteem and healthy life years.
Romania scored 71.3 points in the survey. While 76% of Romanian men consider themselves healthy (67% of women), in reality women spend more time maintaining their health. 73 percent of non-smokers do not smoke and consume harmful alcohol, compared to only 36 percent of men. The average life expectancy at birth is 80 years for women and 72 years for men.
Women stay healthy until they reach the age of 61 on average, and men for a year less. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation on exercise, fruit and vegetable consumption is followed by 7 per cent of women and 16 per cent of men. 8 percent of women and 6 percent of men would need a medical examination (but would not have access). Dental intervention is out of reach for 7 percent of women and 6 percent of men.
Men in Hungary (62%) consider it healthier than women (55%), 80 years for women expected to be born at birth and 73 years for men. Regarding healthy life years, no significant differences can be detected in the case of people in Hungary either: on average, women stay healthy until the age of 63 and men until the age of 61. In Hungary, 76 percent of women do not smoke or consume alcohol to a harmful extent, and a much higher proportion of Hungarian men, 59 percent, live a life free of harmful passions than their Romanian counterparts. Compared to Romania alone, more people in Hungary consume vegetables, fruits and sports (33% of women and 38% of men).
The proportion of people who do not have access to medical examinations in Hungary is 6% and 7%, respectively, in favor of men. Dental care is inaccessible to 3% of both women and men.
Women have fewer opportunities to work, but they also have less time to build a career in Romania
Gender norms and stereotypes are key elements of gender inequality in the world of work, as the unequal distribution of care, family and other household responsibilities is a significant barrier to women’s equal participation in the labor market.
Only the segregation of women in the labor market and the gender pay gap remain a challenge for European countries. Meanwhile, the survey also highlights that caring and family responsibilities are not a structural barrier for men to gaining employment. However, when they take on more caring responsibilities at home, they reduce their working hours.
Romania performed best in the job category according to the 2021 report, finishing 22nd with 67.5 points.
In terms of work, the researchers looked at the working conditions under which women and men work and the extent to which they can participate in a given field.
As a result, the data show that employment provides more opportunities for men to take up different occupations, and that the proportion of employed people is much higher (61%). And in terms of years of work, men also dominate, working more than a week for 30 years. (EU average 33 and 38 years, respectively, for men).
The gender gap is not significant in terms of career prospects and career development opportunities for employees. Career opportunities among women get the same hit among Romanian men and 67 and 66 out of 100. Here, however, it is worth noting that labor market segregation is significant: women are largely excluded from management positions, but within the education, health and social sectors they are predominantly present, with only 3% of men here.
Interestingly, while the proportion of women with a tertiary education is the same for women and men, the proportion of women in the gender and health care professions in the humanities and the arts is almost double that of men (18 and 30, respectively).
The report measures the quality of work on the basis of a system of criteria for flexible working hours and job opportunities. A workplace that allows an employee to rest for an hour or two, or to manage their personal or family, is considered flexible. 18 percent of women and 20 percent of men can take an hour or two to work for personal or family matters.
46% of women are responsible for caring for and teaching family members, while 25% of men are responsible for such tasks. Ordinary cooking and housekeeping are also undertaken by 75 per cent of women, compared to 41 per cent of men.