Women’s Social Position in Contemporary Croatian Family – Example of the City of Split

Abstract

The patriarchal system in society that values the role of men more than women’s has led to the discrimination and marginalization of many women throughout history. Croatian society, when compared to the more developed European countries, is slowly liberating pre-modern elements and partially retains traditional features. Family as the main organ of maintaining patriarchy is still high on the scale of the value in Croatian society. Therefore, the main aim of the research was to examine the position of women in a contemporary family on the example of the city of Split. The study involved eleven participants who are married or in a cohabitation, and the chosen research method is a semi-structured interview. Although the role of men and women over the time becomes more equal and redefinition of the role of a man in the family is noticed, behavioral changes are still slower than changes in attitudes. The results show that women are still primarily responsible for housekeeping and child care regardless of their participation in material income, which leads to their multiple distress. The frame of the participant’s value system is a mix of traditional and (post) modern values.

Keywords

• patriarchy
• family
• gender relations
• role of women
• Split