5. Women's participation in education, training and extension
5.1 Women's participation in professional education and training
Table 7: Educational levels in rural areas by sex (percent), 1990-1991.
Country |
Educational Level | |||
Low* |
Medium** |
High*** | ||
Estonia |
M |
|||
F |
||||
Latvia |
M |
55 |
39 |
6 |
F |
58 |
35 |
7 |
|
Lithuania a |
M |
35 |
61 |
4 |
F |
49 |
47 |
4 |
|
Poland |
M |
88 |
10 |
2 |
F |
82 |
16 |
2 |
|
Czech Rep. |
F |
53 |
45 |
2 |
Slovakia |
M |
40 |
56 |
42 |
Hungary |
F |
77 |
15 |
4 |
Slovenia |
M |
49 |
46 |
4 |
F |
65 |
30 |
5 |
|
Croatia |
M |
60 |
36 |
4 |
F |
75 |
22 |
3 |
|
Bulgaria b |
M |
73 |
25 |
2 |
F |
79 |
19 |
2 |
|
Finland |
M |
|||
F |
||||
Austria c |
M |
49 |
49 |
2 |
F |
72 |
27 |
1 |
|
Ireland |
M |
|||
F |
||||
Source: Focal Informants
*Elementary school or less
**More than elementary but less than university
***University level
a1989
b1992
c1981
One of the main problems in rural areas is the low level of education. In all the project countries rural people are less educated than people in cities. In most of the project countries the level of education for rural women is even lower than that for men (Table 7). Only in Poland and Hungary is the level of education for rural women slightly higher than that of rural men, although in these countries the general level of education in rural areas is the lowest. The proportion of women educated to a high level is higher in all the CEE countries than it is in Austria.
Professional education and training are concentrated on agriculture. In all the research countries there are many agricultural schools and institutes, and adult education and training in agriculture is available. A common feature in many research countries is the lack of knowledge of home economics, in terms of lack of schools and of advisory, training and extension services in home economics. In Latvia, Slovakia, Croatia and Bulgaria, there are no vocational or professional schools in home economics. The lack of education and training can be seen in nutrition; there is a strong need for education in nutrition, as the diets of rural people are heavy and unhealthy.
Another shortage in the educational systems of most project countries is a lack of education and training in rural entrepreneurship. There are no special schools in rural entrepreneurship in any of the project countries, although a few specialization or adult training courses are organized by agricultural schools, institutes or universities in certain countries (the Baltic countries, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia). No training courses in rural entrepreneurship specifically for women are organized in any of the project countries.
The main educational needs of rural women are not perceived to be in agricultural production, but in entrepreneurship and home economics at school, institute and university level and in adult education and training. The main needs in adult education, extension and training for rural women expressed by the focal informants are: farm and household management; processing of agricultural products on the farm; village and farm tourism; basics of home economics; healthy nutrition; marketing; accounting; bookkeeping; budgeting; financing; knowledge of taxation; psychology of leadership; and long-term life planning.
In the transition phase that the CEE countries are currently undergoing, the situation and supply of extension services is changing all the time. As former state-run extension services decline, private extension and consultancy services are increasing. The information given by the Focal Informants comes from the years 1992 to 1993, and the situation in the CEE countries has changed since then. The need for market-oriented extension services in the rural areas of in the CEE countries is increasing.
All the project countries, with the exception of Hungary, have some extension or advisory services in agriculture, but only a few (Poland, Estonia and Slovenia) have them in home management or home economics (Table 8). Only in Poland are there activities within the extension service organization directed towards women only. In the majority of countries, extension services are provided by the public sector, and only in Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia the private sector is also involved in the provision of extension services.
Table 8: Extension or advisory services available, 1994
Eston |
Latv. |
Lith. |
Pol. |
Czech Rep. |
Slovakia |
Hung. |
Slovenia |
Croatia |
Bulg. |
Finl. |
Aust. |
Irel. | |
Agr. |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Home Econ |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Table 9: Specialization of extension workers, 1994
Country |
Specialization/Subject | |||||||
Agric. |
Horticulture |
Viticulture |
Home Econ. |
Environment |
Agroturism |
Rural Entrepr. |
Rural Development | |
Estonia |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Latvia |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
Lithuania |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
Poland |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Czech Rep. |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
Slovakia |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
Hungary |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
-- |
- |
- |
Slovenia |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
+ |
Croatia |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
Bulgaria |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
Finland |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
Austria |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
Ireland |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Source: Focal Informants.
As a result of the great social and political changes in the project countries the national extension service organizations are changing and continuously developing their services. The priority needs within the extension service system are in home economics (Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and Bulgaria have no resources), in agrotourism (in Lithuania, Hungary, Croatia and Bulgaria there are no resources), in rural entrepreneurship (Poland, Hungary and Croatia have no resources) and in environmental issues (Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Croatia have no resources). A more comprehensive and modern attitude to rural development extension is rare; only Hungary and Slovenia are beginning to develop a new, more comprehensive system for rural development.
One of the main organizations for rural people, especially for farmers, is the Farmers' Union. There is a Farmers' Union in each of the project countries except Slovenia. Women's membership is possible in all countries apart from the Czech Republic. In Estonia, Latvia and Bulgaria the Union has special activities for women (Table 10).
Table 10: The role of women in Farmers' Unions (FU) 1994
Eston |
Latv. |
Lith. |
Pol. |
Czech Rep. |
Slovakia |
Hung. |
Slovenia |
Croatia |
Bulg. |
Finl. |
Aust. |
Irel. | |
FU exit |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Women's members is possible |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Activities directed towards women |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Source: Focal Informants.
In addition, there are many other farmers' interest groups and organizations in the project countries. In Lithuania there are the Association for Women Farmers, the Union of Peasants and the Union of Young Farmers, in which women can be members. In Poland there are the Village Housewives' Organization and Agricultural Chambers, where women's membership is possible. In the Czech Republic there are many different organizations, but for male members only. In Slovakia there are the Association of Landowners and the Association of Farmers with women members. In Slovenia there are farm women's groups, in Croatia the Peasants' Union and in Bulgaria the Federation of Agricultural Producers, all with women members.
There are also many other professional organizations in the project countries, in which women can participate. Most of them are very young, founded at the beginning of the 1990s, after the social and political change in the country had started.
The role of rural women in public life is weak. Rural women may become elected to the village board or local government, but they are seldom leaders in public life; most often the role of women is "members only". In the Catholic countries women are not elected to church organizations. Although women are sometimes active at the lower level, there are few women in public life at the national level (Table 11). The Catholic tradition is strong and there is a tendency to believe that a woman's place is in the home and family and not in public life.
Table 11: Rural women's participation in village boards, 1994
Eston |
Latv. |
Lith. |
Pol. |
Czech Rep. |
Slovakia |
Hung. |
Slovenia |
Croatia |
Bulg. |
Finl. |
Aust. |
Irel. | |
Men only |
+ |
||||||||||||
Mainly men |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
|||||||||
Men & women |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ | ||||||
Mainly women |
|||||||||||||
Women only |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Source: Focal Informants.
As for women's participation, the project countries, along with most of eastern, southern, and the rest of western and central Europe, differ from the Nordic countries, where women are much more active in political and public life. The proportion of women in parliament is very low in the project countries; the average is approximately 10 percent of the members. The situation in some of the reference countries is no better; the proportion of women in parliament is 11 percent in Austria and 8 percent in Ireland. In Finland and Norway the proportion of women members in parliament in 1994 was 39 percent, in Sweden 41 percent and in Denmark 34 percent (Nordic Council of Ministers, 1994).
