In over a hundred years since women began their struggle for universal suffrage, for equal pay for the same work and for better working conditions, women have achieved equality with men in many areas and even surpassed them in some, while in some areas they are still far from being equal, the DZS said in a statement, noting that 78.2% of its staff are women.
In mid-2013, Croatia had a population of 4,255,689, of whom 51.7% were women. The largest proportion of women was recorded in the City of Zagreb (53.2%) and the smallest in Lika-Senj County (50.2%).
Women in Croatia on average live longer than men. Life expectancy for girls born in 2013 is 80.2 years, while for boys it is 74.2 years. The 2011 census revealed that out of 198 centenarians, 162 were women.
In the academic year 2013/14, the proportion of women enrolled in higher education programmes was 56.8%, and 58.9% of students who obtained a degree in 2013 were women. There were fewer women graduates in traditionally male-dominated fields of study such as computer science, engineering, architecture and civil engineering. On the other hand, 57.9% of holders of a master's or specialist's degree and 54.7% of holders of a doctor's degree were women.
Although in Croatia more women hold a university degree than men, the illiteracy rate is still higher among women. The 2011 census shows that 1.3% of women are illiterate, as opposed to 0.4% of men.
More and more women are getting married and having their first child later in life. The average age of a bride in 2013 was 27.9 years, or 6.3 years more than than 1970 average. Figures for 2013 also show that women had their first baby at the age of 28.3, which was 5.5 years more than in 1970.
According to figures for January 2015, the proportion of women in Croatia's workforce was 46.8%. Women mostly worked in the clothing industry (88.34%), social care with accommodation (84.95%) and social care without accommodation (82.69%). The proportion of women was lowest in the manufacturing of means of transport (7.2%).
In 2012, the average take-home wage was 5,469 kuna (720 euros) and women earned on average 5.4% less. In 2014, the lowest monthly wage, of 2,972 kuna (390 euros), was paid in the clothing industry.
The proportion of women in the Croatian Parliament increased from 4.6% in 1990 to 19.9% in the present Parliament. Things are changing slowly, as shown by the fact that Croatia got its first woman president this year, the DZS said, wishing all women a happy Women's Day.