They actually want to fit in

Women and discrimination - Local Life

What challenges can a volunteer face in a new environment-importance of reaching out and working on the issues.

by Ana Beatriz Marçal Farinha

After all, is it really that easy to stand in the shoes of a woman and have to struggle for a position or a place that is normally held by a man? And as if that was not enough, to make the scenario a little more difficult, imagine having to fight for that position while coming from an ethnic minority.

If in the so-called modern society it’s often considered complicated or sometimes too ambitious when a woman tries to fight for a position or a role normally held by a man, let’s imagine the same scenario for a woman coming from a gypsy community... The truth is that some Greeks excitedly look towards a future of gender equality. On the opposite side others are reluctant to certain changes and are steadfast to tradition.

There have been significant recent developments in the status of women’s rights in Greece, but although all of these progresses have occurred, Greek women still seem to be at a disadvantage. On top of that, migrant and Roma women are at an even worse economical and educational disadvantage.

According to the blog “The Borgen Project”, recent data reports that men make up around 70% of Greece’s total workforce and 80% of the country’s Parliament. Many women in the workforce remain in low-income, service, and part-time positions — with only about 33% of part-time positions belonging to men.

According to Eurostat figures, the gender pay gap in Greece comes to 15%, which is actually a little smaller than the European average. Female employment has increased substantially since the 1990s: according to the World Bank, the proportion of women among the gainfully employed has grown from 36.1% in 1990 to 43% nowadays.

The truth is that women in Greece tend to work in low-pay sectors, which have actually grown since the crisis. As a result, because more women than men have precarious jobs, on the whole female unemployment has increased less drastically. Several factors, including the rise of the tertiary sector, increased numbers of women in higher education, gender mainstreaming in legislation and policies, development of the childcare system and the demise of the male breadwinner model, have contributed to the rise of female participation in the Greek labor market.

Although female employment has risen significantly in recent decades, Greece still has one of the largest gender gaps in the EU with regard to labor market participation, unemployment, and wages. It is important to note that issues such as the gender wage gap, discrimination in recruitment and career advancement, sexual harassment, precarious employment, and violations of the labor legislation on gender equality are almost silenced in public discourse.

This gender pay gap is considerably higher among Roma population than non-Roma population. Unemployment rates for Roma women are higher than for Roma men in most of the European countries. The major issues faced by Roma women hindering their participation in the labor market have been identified as lack of education, low levels of employability skills, low income, and participation in informal work.

We all know that the most common stereotype for Roma women is that their purpose in life is bound to the family. A Roma woman experiences a double ‘stigma’, she is a woman but at the same time she is also a Roma woman, a Gypsy.

There are still many people, including Roma men, who do not understand the feminist agenda and believe it is about dominating and subordinating men. First, they have to prove inside their community that they can make it and then, when they are seeking for a job, they immediately face negative conduct or are automatically excluded for their background. A shocking fact that can prove this reality is that only one in five Roma women older than 16 years are in paid work. This can also be explained by the fact that the typical Roma woman in Greece will spend less than six years in school.

The reality is that a large number of Roma women and girls continue to face multiple discrimination in various areas, ranging from health to employment and education, amongst others. They also have limited opportunities to influence the policies that most concern them. For example, some Roma women are still facing sexist, old-fashioned and set views or even restrictions in career guidance or working life both from the majority population and male community members.

Masculine social values are still prominent within Roma society and culture, although there seems to be a pattern of change. For many years, similar masculine values were equally prominent in the non-Roma groups of several countries before they changed along with the shape of societies. The main victims of the prevalence of masculine values seem to be Roma women, who become the targets of multiple discrimination, both from inside and outside Roma society.

There is still much to be done regarding their empowerment, a lengthy and challenging process.

Education, social entrepreneurship, and training are examples of excellent tools for enabling Roma to change their own lives. Empowering Roma women is particularly important as they are less likely than men to have an education or a job, and face difficulties in accessing health care and social services. Involving the Roma community in meaningful ways is essential in achieving this. By increasing Roma’s participation in the design and implementation of policies, it becomes easier to accurately assess the needs and ensure equal access to important services such as education, housing, and healthcare.

The big truth is that the Roma know more about the world outside than the world outside knows about the Roma.