Changing gender relations in Croatia

Using an interdisciplinary approach, this project will research aspects of changing gender relations in Croatia that have not been sufficiently addressed. These changes will significantly affect social cohesion and the development possibilities of society in future generations. This research focuses on changes in gender roles, identities and practices brought about by the inclusion of Croatia in the European Union, as well as the constant intensification of global social, economic and cultural interdependence. These processes have led not only to the flexibility of work arrangements, but also to new patterns of life organization closely related to gender relations. Along with the features of emerging gender identities of younger generations (in recent literature described as “new masculinities” and “new femininities) and their implications in different areas of social life, social inequalities and multiple exclusions related to gender will be explored in detail. Project results will contribute to the understanding of the specificity of emerging gender relations in Croatia, which is important for the formulation of intersectoral public policies at the national level, and in EU cohesion policy. The methodology used in this project will also be improved in areas relevant to research. This will be based on the integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches (mixed methods). The work packages of the project include: RP1 Data collection; RP2 Context of gender: theoretical aspects; RP3 Gender inequalities and exclusions; RP4 Gender identities, values and practices of young generations; and RP5 Dissemination and cooperation with civil society. As part of the project, one survey will be conducted on a nationally proportional sample (N=1,000) (knowledge panel), two surveys on targeted quota samples, one among a student population (N=600) and one among youth (N=600), semi-structured interviews on gender relations, identity and practices in different Croatian regions (N=60), semi-structured multigenerational interviews on trajectories of gender relations with a target population (parents and children from the same family) (N=10), expert interviews in the field of gender relations among young people (N=4), and focus groups on new constructions of gender (N=4). Within the framework of the project, scales of new masculinity and new femininity will also be developed, and ethnographies of social meetings between youth and young adults (N=3), as well as ethnographies on online social meetings between young people (N=2) will be carried out. Project team: Rebeka Jadranka Anić (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences) Lynette Šikić-Mičanović (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences) Inga Tomić-Koludrović (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences) Augustin Derado (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences) Iva Žunić (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences) Paula Greiner (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences) Mirko Petrić (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences) Matija Krizmanić (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences) Mirela Crljen (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences) Marta Keglević (Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences) Darija Ivošević (University of Zadar) Siniša Zrinščak (University of Zagreb) Željka Zdravković (University of Zadar)