School of Economics and Business in Sarajevo, in cooperation with the Government of the Federation BiH has conducted the study entitled "Representation and Engagement of Women in Enterprises Owned by the FBiH", which is funded by the Government of the United Kingdom. The study is aimed at identifying main barriers faced by women in their advancement to higher positions.
Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina are encountering numerous challenges and barriers on the road to equality, and this struggle has been present for decades. Although women make up over 50% of the population and 59% of student population in higher education institutions, the gender gap in unemployment is still resistant to changes, and the rate of women's activity is low. The horizontal segregation in higher education and at the labour market is obvious, while at the same time higher positions in politics and the business world are mostly reserved for men. It seems that the "glass ceiling" is too thick to be broken.
Besides, the late 1990s witnessed the retraditionalization of gender roles in BiH society, with emerging different hybrid patterns of patriarchal values and norms that hamper women's success in their careers.
The study was designed so as to encompass secondary data obtained by the analysis of the publicly available information, interviews, focus groups and a survey which was distributed to male and female managers of SoEs in FBiH. The study design used the Gender Analysis Framework (GAF) as the structure for organizing information on gender differences in various areas of social life.
The study offers specific recommendations for the improvement of gender diversities in management, boards and in managements positions in SoEs in FBiH, as well as recommendations for creating a pool of talents of qualified women with a potential for leadership, who can help to faster overcome gender differences.
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