MIND THE GAP(S) Family, Socialization and Gender
MIND THE GAP(S) Family, Socialization and Gender
Contributor(s): Tamara Petrović-Trifunović (Editor), Sanja Milutinović Bojanić (Editor), Gazela Pudar Draško (Editor)
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Sociology, Gender history
Published by: Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju
Keywords: gender roles; Family; Socialization; Gender; gender inequalities
Summary/Abstract: There is a tendency to observe changes occurring in the family domain and gender relations in the last century, which have presented numerous possibilities, acceptable behaviors, parental styles, deconstructed gender roles, etc. The aim of this volume is to question the rootedness of this exciting narrative in the theoretical reconceptualization and in data acquired through research of family and gender. Furthermore, it seeks to explore the relationship between new equality regimes and continued gender inequalities in the domain of the family.
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-86-82417-81-1
- Page Count: 424
- Publication Year: 2015
- Language: English
MEASURING GENDER INEQUALITY. GENDER SENSITIVE INDICATORS AND AGGREGATE INDEXES: WHAT STORY DO THEY TELL?
MEASURING GENDER INEQUALITY. GENDER SENSITIVE INDICATORS AND AGGREGATE INDEXES: WHAT STORY DO THEY TELL?
(MEASURING GENDER INEQUALITY. GENDER SENSITIVE INDICATORS AND AGGREGATE INDEXES: WHAT STORY DO THEY TELL?)
- Author(s):Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Sociology
- Page Range:26-63
- No. of Pages:38
- Keywords:GENDER INEQUALITY
- Summary/Abstract:Achieving gender equality is critical towards the greater human development and sustainable growth. Since both men’s and women’s welfare constitute human welfare, ensuring their equal access to opportunities, freedoms and assets is essential for enhancing the development. Globally, women experience lower employment rates and wages than men as well as lower political participation and thus the reduced power to speak up their rights. Due to the reproduction, women face higher difficulties associated with the conditions of their health. Prevailing social norms and institutional obstacles prevent women to effectively combine paid work and child care.
EXPERTS ON GENDER ROLES IN FAMILIES: ACTION RESEARCH APPROACH
EXPERTS ON GENDER ROLES IN FAMILIES: ACTION RESEARCH APPROACH
(EXPERTS ON GENDER ROLES IN FAMILIES: ACTION RESEARCH APPROACH)
- Author(s):Verica Pavić Zentner
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Sociology, Gender history, Studies in violence and power
- Page Range:64-80
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:Gender inequality; Institutional failure; Family transition; Economic dependency; Violence in families
- Summary/Abstract:Gender inequality in Serbian families is evident in all aspects of everyday life. The sources and forms of the inequalities vary, in terms of age, origin, gender, and belonging to another sensitive group, or having multiple sensitivity issues due to having more of these or similar characteristics.
GENDER (IN)EQUALITIES WITHIN THE FAMILY: THE CASE OF SERBIA
GENDER (IN)EQUALITIES WITHIN THE FAMILY: THE CASE OF SERBIA
(GENDER (IN)EQUALITIES WITHIN THE FAMILY: THE CASE OF SERBIA)
- Author(s):Rada Drezgić
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Sociology
- Page Range:81-102
- No. of Pages:22
- Keywords:Gender roles; Domestic labor; Patriarchy; Family norms; Socialist legacy.
- Summary/Abstract:Almost half a century ago while I was in a third grade of elementary school my mother had to stay in a hospital in another town. Since we did not have any (female) relatives living nearby, my father had to resume all household duties while still working full time. For me it was a simple matter of fact until one day, in front of the whole class, my teacher inquired me about our family ‘situation’. With genuine concern in her voice she asked who was taking care of my four years older brother and me while our mother was away. Proudly (because we were so self-reliant), I replied that it was my father, only to turn lowly due to my teacher’s reaction. She expressed both surprise and disbelief, suggesting that my father’s attitude might have been admirable but was not quite proper and/or becoming for a man. Thus, all of a sudden, my father’s parenting that went beyond breadwinning and for me used to be normal and natural, appeared wrong and unnatural.
DEMYSTIFICATION OF MATERNAL IDEOLOGIES – MATERNAL INSTINCT
DEMYSTIFICATION OF MATERNAL IDEOLOGIES – MATERNAL INSTINCT
(DEMYSTIFICATION OF MATERNAL IDEOLOGIES – MATERNAL INSTINCT)
- Author(s):Viktorija Borovska
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Sociology
- Page Range:104-131
- No. of Pages:28
- Keywords:Maternal instinct; Social construction; Motherhood myths; Postnatal depression
- Summary/Abstract:One of the components frequently associated with living up to the myth of a “good mother”, one that is completely dedicated, who sacrifices herself and who should know what the proper, best way of rearing and educating children is, is the possession of maternal instinct. The experiencing of mothers with regard to child rearing, starting from the first moments after the child is born, is frequently defined and attributed to the existence of the so called maternal instinct. Maybe one of the strongest arguments of the normative patriarchal discourse with respect to maternity and the “natural” role of the mother, which is almost never analysed, is the existence of the maternal instinct. This understanding is so widely accepted that it is receiving the status of “common knowledge”. But the expectations of motherhood and the assumption that maternal instinct exists, which switches on when the child is born, are not at all “benign”, especially not for the individuals that dominantly do the bearing and rearing of children the mothers (both biological and non biological ones). But let’s start by defining the terms “instinct” and “maternal instinct”.
MOTHERHOOD AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT
MOTHERHOOD AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT
(MOTHERHOOD AS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT)
- Author(s):Nada Sekulić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Sociology
- Page Range:132-146
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:Good mother ideology; Naturalization of motherhood; Depowerment; Medicalization; Love as social practice.
- Summary/Abstract:The good mother is required to be loving and caring, to have ‘never-ending’ supplies of patience, to willingly and regularly spend time with her children, and in this time provide her children with the right sort of attention, stimulation and guidance. She is required to remain calm and relaxed at all times, to be a good listener and communicator, and to be understanding and sensitive to children’s needs. Amongst the tasks she must competently perform are the disciplining of her children, teaching of appropriate behaviour, and everyday basic care tasks of feeding and keeping children clean. In order to manage all this she must have highly developed skills in juggling competing demands; she must be responsible, consistent, fair, able to handle (control?) her children in any situation, never lose her temper—and it would help also if she was energetic, creative, and had a sense of humour.
SINGING SOLO OR DANCING DUET: GENDER EQUALITY TUNING IN TRANSNATIONAL FAMILY BLUES
SINGING SOLO OR DANCING DUET: GENDER EQUALITY TUNING IN TRANSNATIONAL FAMILY BLUES
(SINGING SOLO OR DANCING DUET: GENDER EQUALITY TUNING IN TRANSNATIONAL FAMILY BLUES)
- Author(s):Alissa Tolstokorova
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Sociology
- Page Range:147-184
- No. of Pages:38
- Keywords:Transnational family; Labour migration; Gender roles; Parenthood transformations; Care across borders
- Summary/Abstract:“No match found” was the result of my Google search at its pages in Ukrainian for the entry “transnational family”. The same result emerged for “transnational parenthood/ motherhood/ fatherhood”. Online catalogues of central research libraries did not show any items either, evincing a lack of appreciation and absence of interest in this novel outcome of human mobility in the Ukrainian academic community.
TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY IN ASSESSMENTS OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS OF STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NIŠ
TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY IN ASSESSMENTS OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS OF STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NIŠ
(TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY IN ASSESSMENTS OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS OF STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NIŠ)
- Author(s):Marina Matejević, Jelisaveta Todorović, Dragana Jovanović
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Sociology
- Page Range:185-196
- No. of Pages:12
- Keywords:systemic family approach; parenting styles; subsystems interaction; gender differences; family functioning assessment
- Summary/Abstract:Systemic perspective was used in considering the family relationships. According to the systemic approach to family, family functioning cannot be understood as a sum of individual family members’ functioning. Family is a system composed of subsystems’ components: partner subsystem, parent subsystem, the subsystem formed by children and at the same time family is seen as a part of the ecological suprasystem with which it exchanges energy and information. For understanding of the way family functions it is very important to understand the relationship between these subsystems as well as the relationship between the family and its surrounding. Applying the general systems theory on family and its functioning, it can be said that the parts of the family - its subsystems are in a constant exchanging, and that the behaviour of certain members cannot be understood in isolation from the other part of the subsystem. The family as a system works through transactional patterns which consist of repeated interactions which establish the pattern of behaviour.
PARENTAL STYLES IN THE PROCESS OF EMOTIONAL SOCIALIZATION OF CHILDREN IN CONTEMPORARY MONTENEGRIN FAMILIES
PARENTAL STYLES IN THE PROCESS OF EMOTIONAL SOCIALIZATION OF CHILDREN IN CONTEMPORARY MONTENEGRIN FAMILIES
(PARENTAL STYLES IN THE PROCESS OF EMOTIONAL SOCIALIZATION OF CHILDREN IN CONTEMPORARY MONTENEGRIN FAMILIES)
- Author(s):Jelena Ćeriman
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Sociology
- Page Range:197-218
- No. of Pages:22
- Keywords:Parental roles; Gender socialization; Emotional warmth and control; Parenting styles; Montenegrin family dynamics.
- Summary/Abstract:“I was their father and their mother”. The term is used to emphasize that one person is the actor in everything that parenthood means but also points to the existence of a notion of two different parental roles. What does it mean in such a case to be a father, and what to be a mother, especially if both roles are performed by the same person? In this case, what thoughts, feelings and activity characterize the maternal role, and what characterizes fatherly role? How often and in which situations have you heard men utter "I was their mother and father," and how often and when do women?
FAMILY VALUES AND MODERN IDENTITIES
FAMILY VALUES AND MODERN IDENTITIES
(FAMILY VALUES AND MODERN IDENTITIES)
- Author(s):Jelena Đurić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Sociology, Gender history
- Page Range:219-228
- No. of Pages:10
- Keywords:family values; cultural identity; gender socialization; modernity vs tradition; soul and subjectivity
- Summary/Abstract:This paper will consider the problem of identity which reflects ‘family values’ transmitted usually to the child in its first cultural environment. That's why the family is substantial factor of enculturation: internalization of culture, developing a social identity, providing an ascribed social status and early gender socialization the child usually socialize by getting used to routines of the family members, receiving signs of their needs and expectations. Hence, the personal life experience of father and mother are crucial to the resultant parental values that would be transmitted to the child. But apart from parental identities, their upbringing practices and educational patterns also depend on cultural worldviews and social policies. The collision among the two is present in Serbia where cultural recognition of family values, originating from the traditional society, still seems resilient to modernization policy (since the period of socialism with its ‘state feminism’ that promoted women rights as ‘equality in employment’). Provoking paradox in the issue of women rights, modern values also assumed a need to harmonize both of women's roles as industrial and as domestic labor force.
BENEVOLENT SEXISM IN FAMILY AND ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS: A SUBTLE AND EFFICIENT MECHANISM OF PERSISTENCE OF MODERN PATRIARCHY
BENEVOLENT SEXISM IN FAMILY AND ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS: A SUBTLE AND EFFICIENT MECHANISM OF PERSISTENCE OF MODERN PATRIARCHY
(BENEVOLENT SEXISM IN FAMILY AND ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS: A SUBTLE AND EFFICIENT MECHANISM OF PERSISTENCE OF MODERN PATRIARCHY)
- Author(s):Marija Todorović Tatar
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Sociology, Gender history
- Page Range:230-250
- No. of Pages:21
- Keywords:benevolent sexism; gender stereotypes; ambivalent sexism theory; patriarchy; private vs public sphere
- Summary/Abstract:This paper will focus on positive gender stereotypes and prejudices directed toward women, on behaviours that are based on those prejudices and their consequences for gender equality. Benevolent sexism is a term conceived by Susan Fiske and Peter Glick within the ambivalent sexism theory and it refers to “a subjectively positive orientation of protection, idealization, and affection directed toward women that, like hostile sexism, serves to justify women's subordinate status to men” (Glick et al, 2000: 763). The classic definition of prejudice which was very influential until the nineties is the definition Allport wrote in his famous book The Nature of Prejudice in 1954: “Prejudice is an antipathy based on faulty and inflexible generalization” (Allport, 1954: 9). Many prejudice theories were built upon this definition. Scientists Susan Fiske and Peter Glick criticized the idea that “prejudice is an antipathy” and argued that sexism or gender prejudices are not just hostile, but can be benevolent as well.
HOW ARE WOMEN PRESENTED? WHAT MESSAGES DO THEY COMMUNICATE THROUGH THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN ADVERTISEMENTS?
HOW ARE WOMEN PRESENTED? WHAT MESSAGES DO THEY COMMUNICATE THROUGH THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN ADVERTISEMENTS?
(HOW ARE WOMEN PRESENTED? WHAT MESSAGES DO THEY COMMUNICATE THROUGH THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN ADVERTISEMENTS?)
- Author(s):Ioanna Fokou
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Sociology, Gender history, Marketing / Advertising
- Page Range:251-262
- No. of Pages:12
- Keywords:gender stereotypes; advertising representation; objectification of women; patriarchal norms; media socialization
- Summary/Abstract:The ad is almost as old as the civilization itself. In 1890, when it appeared as print ads in conjunction with the second industrial revolution, its dynamics soared. In newspapers and magazines, bicycles and sewing machines were advertised. During 1920 the modern advertising, through radio, opened new roads with creating songs that flanked the product advertised repeating the slogan, called jingles (Noble 2011: 740-743). In 1950, however, with the introduction of television, the power of advertising was consolidated and started to affect, more directly, more people's lives. But what is advertising? Advertising is a communication tool, which has as its main objective informing the public of the goods, services, opinions or ideas. The presentation and all of the above notification to the public is through some media, which are remunerated by the advertiser (Dyer, Gillian, 1982).Also it can be 252 considered as an institution, contemporary form of art and a socio-cultural phenomenon (Ζώτος 2000: 21).
GENDER AND VISUAL ARTS IN ŠUMADIJA REGION
GENDER AND VISUAL ARTS IN ŠUMADIJA REGION
(GENDER AND VISUAL ARTS IN ŠUMADIJA REGION)
- Author(s):Snežana Grujić, Jelena Petrović-Desnica
- Language:Serbian
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Visual Arts, Sociology, Gender history
- Page Range:263-272
- No. of Pages:10
- Keywords:feminist aesthetics; gender sensitivity; patriarchal art norms; Šumadija female artists; visual arts and identity
- Summary/Abstract:Given that the first female artists exhibition of the 20th century was not held before 1976, which was retrospection of female creation process in the last 400 years in the West, that Serbia did not have her first female artist (Katarina Ivanović) before the 19th century, and that the number of females who attend art and applied art academies has only recently increased, the need to ask gender-related and gender identity questions has arisen in this area as well. Feminist art appeared in the 70s, i.e. 80s of the 20th century, within the so-called radical and conceptual art. Nowadays among Serbian female artists there are those whose creation process may be categorised under feminist art. By adopting the National Strategy for the Improvement of Women’s Position and Enhancement of Gender Equality, the areas in which this strategic activity is to be implemented were defined in 2009.
REPRESENTATION OF DIVORCE ON SCREEN: TV SERIES AND MOVIES IN 1980s SERBIA
REPRESENTATION OF DIVORCE ON SCREEN: TV SERIES AND MOVIES IN 1980s SERBIA
(REPRESENTATION OF DIVORCE ON SCREEN: TV SERIES AND MOVIES IN 1980s SERBIA)
- Author(s):Staša Lučić
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Media studies, Sociology, Gender history
- Page Range:280-302
- No. of Pages:23
- Keywords:divorce culture; media representation; 1980s Serbia; television influence; subversive reading method
- Summary/Abstract:The research focuses on the 1980s since this is seen as time when television developed its presence in life of people in Serbia enough to exercise influence. It is also chosen because the ideological pressures were not as strong as in the previous decades. On the other hand, the television in the 1980s was still limited to two channels (both of them state owned) so we can speak about certain common places in terms of choice of shows watched, as well as social, family nature of watching TV since there was no differentiation according to age group.
WOMEN IN NORTHERN KOSOVO – DAILY LIFE IN BETWEEN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL DIVISION
WOMEN IN NORTHERN KOSOVO – DAILY LIFE IN BETWEEN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL DIVISION
(WOMEN IN NORTHERN KOSOVO – DAILY LIFE IN BETWEEN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL DIVISION)
- Author(s):Ivana Aritonović
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Sociology, Gender history, Inter-Ethnic Relations
- Page Range:304-314
- No. of Pages:11
- Keywords:post-conflict daily life; re-traditionalization; women’s roles; ethnic division; patriarchal family structures
- Summary/Abstract:The topic of a daily life in Serbian sociology became very important during the last decade of 20th century. The reason for that might be the decay of SFRY, Serbia being a constituent part of it, intensive pauperization, economic sanctions, and the influx of more than half a million of refugees to Serbia from other Yugoslav republics. Such turbulent socio-economic circumstances caused changes in people’s everyday life. Impoverished population looked for the ways to survive in a dignified manner. All those changes which were specific for social actors at that time were thoroughly studied by sociologists. During the beginning of 1990s, few collections of works on daily life have been published, and such trend continued in the first decade of the new millennium. That lead to an observation, as Anđelka Milić pointed out: “One specific sociological orientation gained confirmation, which, in our terms, is getting features of a special sociologic school of thought on a research of empirical world of sociality” (Milić, 2004: 8).
WOMEN IN THE PKK
WOMEN IN THE PKK
(WOMEN IN THE PKK)
- Author(s):Özhan Hancılar
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Sociology, Gender history, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies
- Page Range:315-324
- No. of Pages:10
- Keywords:female militancy; gender equality; Kurdish women's emancipation; PKK structure; political violence
- Summary/Abstract:Women who take up arms “represent a challenge to the social order” (Ness 2008: 12) and in recent decades, females are increasingly taking part in illegal armed activities, including the terrorist ones. Therefore, the role and participation of those in illegal armed organizations is an area which deserves greater scholarly attention. On January 10, shortly after the Turkish government announced it had started a new round of peace talks with the jailed head of the PKK, three female PKK members, including Sakine Cansiz, a co-founder of the group were shot dead in Paris (BBC, internet). The assassination not just underscored the fragility of the peace talks; but also highlighted women’s role in the PKK.
LGBT CHILDREN BETWEEN PUBLIC HOMOPHOBIA AND THEIR PARENTAL FAMILIES’ DISMISSAL INSTEAD OF SOLIDARITY AND PROTECTION
LGBT CHILDREN BETWEEN PUBLIC HOMOPHOBIA AND THEIR PARENTAL FAMILIES’ DISMISSAL INSTEAD OF SOLIDARITY AND PROTECTION
(LGBT CHILDREN BETWEEN PUBLIC HOMOPHOBIA AND THEIR PARENTAL FAMILIES’ DISMISSAL INSTEAD OF SOLIDARITY AND PROTECTION)
- Author(s):Zorica Mršević
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Sociology, Gender history
- Page Range:325-357
- No. of Pages:33
- Keywords:LGBT youth; family rejection; parental homophobia; psychological consequences; conditional acceptance
- Summary/Abstract:Nearly 49% of LGBT people became aware of this before 15. They are vulnerable and dependent and need family support, protection and love, solidarity and protection. There are elements of identity which are not the result of family upbringing, e.g. sexual orientation and gender identity. Other, like values, beliefs, goals and even thought patterns are rooted in our family experience. Our identities understandings and behaviour are shaped by the lifelong process of socialization but also by something what we had from the very beginning (Fetoski, 2012: 9). Families are major agent of socialization and are especially significant agent of child socialization (Gelles, 1995: 3, 314). Differences between boys and girls are assumed to be natural, but most of these differences must be taught (Gelles, 1995: 108). We are constantly engaged in re-creating social meaning simply by following our normal daily routines. Morality tales teach about good and evil, but they also carry implicit messages about gender. Although these stories are not presented as true, children take them much more literally than adults do, primarily because young children are less able to distinguish between what is real and what is fantasy (Coltrane, 1997: 108).
CASE ANALYSIS OF AN ADULT HOMOSEXUAL MALE FROM BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA IN CONTEXT OF HOMOSEXUAL IDENTITY FORMATION
CASE ANALYSIS OF AN ADULT HOMOSEXUAL MALE FROM BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA IN CONTEXT OF HOMOSEXUAL IDENTITY FORMATION
(CASE ANALYSIS OF AN ADULT HOMOSEXUAL MALE FROM BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA IN CONTEXT OF HOMOSEXUAL IDENTITY FORMATION)
- Author(s):Dženan Berberović
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Sociology, Gender history
- Page Range:358-398
- No. of Pages:41
- Keywords:homosexual identity formation; internalized homophobia; psychological assessment; societal stigma; Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Summary/Abstract:One of the most important developmental tasks during adolescence and young adulthood is identity formation. Cohesive identity formation is basic for human development throughout the lifespan (Halpin & Allen, 2004). This task would be even more challenging for homosexual individuals, as they are exposed to social stigma, prejudice and negative attitudes because of their homosexual identity even from very early ages (Ryan & Futterman, 2001). Identity development in homosexual individuals is known as the “coming out” process, which implies the process of acceptance of the emerging homosexual identity through several identity formation stages (Cass, 1979, 1984, 1996). Homosexual individuals have numerous feelings toward homosexuality, which need to be overcome (Caroll, 2007). The first awarnesses of sexual orientation emerge in school ages, but they are not admitted to others until the adolescence period (Savin-Williams and Diamond, 2000)
FRAMING THE GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN SERBIA: THE CASE OF FAMILY POLICY
FRAMING THE GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN SERBIA: THE CASE OF FAMILY POLICY
(FRAMING THE GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN SERBIA: THE CASE OF FAMILY POLICY)
- Author(s):Zorana Antonijević
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics, Gender Studies, EU-Approach / EU-Accession / EU-Development
- Page Range:400-423
- No. of Pages:24
- Keywords:gender mainstreaming; feminist movement Serbia; family policy; EU integration; institutional framework
- Summary/Abstract:Feminist movement in Serbia, with more or less influence on the creation of public polices was active in Serbia since the seventies. It has built the foundations for different feminist interventions important for the improvement of the situation of women in Serbia: from fighting against male violence against women, peace initiatives to ecofeminist ideas (Blagojević Hjuson 2012b). Ever since, feminist organizations, both as grass-root formally or informally organized groups, or think tanks, were initiators of important feminist issues. These issues were political requests that will enable participation of women in politics (party programmes, quota system for less represented sex in election laws), the demands to change or adopt new laws that regulates family relationships (Family Law, Criminal Code with changes related to combating violence against women) to the Gender Equality Law and Anti-discrimination Law adopted in 2009 (Pajvančić 2006; 2010). Back in the nineties, the feminist movement in Serbia had already formulated its demands in the text “Minimum of Women's Requests” with six points’ policy agenda. Among issues that were formulate as requests, such as combating violence against women, gender balance in political representation and “Ministry for Women” was also the reconciliation of work and family life. The feminist organizations had proposed shortening working hours per day (from eight to six hours), for both men and women enabling them to share household and care work (Ćetković, 1998:20). However, formulation and adoption of the gender equality policies and gender mainstreaming as a part of the public policy agenda are relatively new notions for both the political elite and the bureaucracy in Serbia. Since the beginning of 2000 and onward first institutions responsible for mainstreaming gender polices were established as well as legal and strategic framework of gender equality. Nevertheless, despite legal, strategic and institutional framework in place, gender mainstreaming as a term remained poorly accepted and recognized, both at the level of University programmes of gender studies and in policy making. Literature about gender mainstreaming is lacking in Serbian and gender studies are more orientated toward theoretical knowledge than practical application of feminist theories in public policies making processes (Milić, 2002, Milić, 2011, Blagojević 2009).
