With increased participation of women in the workforce, the economic performance of a nation can be improved, simultaneously with societal gains that further enable women’s empowerment. With ever increasing educational participation of women, increased women participation in the labour market also allows their talent to be maximised in society and ensures that different perspectives are increasingly reflected in policies and practices both in the private and public sectors. However, gender equality does not necessarily mean having women constitute exactly 50% of the workforce. It is also necessary for women to be able to have access to high level and decision-making positions across all work domains and occupations. As women tend to occupy certain occupations and positions in large numbers, it creates a segmented labour market.
Historically the public sector has employed women in large numbers employing them as teachers, nurses, postal employees, clerks. However, in recent decades women have also been attracted to the public sector because it tends to offer greater stability, as well as better working conditions and more family-friendly policies.
In 2018, the share of women in public sector employment amounted to 40.9% on average in the four Western Balkans for which data are available - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia. This is much lower than the share of women in public employment on average in the OECD (60.2%) and in the OECD-EU countries (61.8%). There are significant differences among these four, with Serbia having slightly more than half of its employees being women (51.4%) while in Kosovo this figure is below one-third (29.2%). In Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, their share amounts to 42.1% and 41% respectively. Similarly to the experience of the OECD and OECD-EU countries, the share of women in the public sector of the Western Balkans remained stable between 2011 and 2018. The differences with the OECD and OECD-EU and among the Western Balkans can be explained by the generally lower participation rates of women in the labour force in this region.
The ratio of women in total employment in the Western Balkan region is lower with an average of 35.4% than their share in public sector (40.9%). It is also lower than the OECD (45.8%) and OECD–EU (46.5%) averages. In Serbia their share is the highest in the region by 43.9%, while it is the lowest in Kosovo at 20.9%.
