Our paper will discuss the economic position of women in several post-socialist countries of Southeast Europe (SEE) using care work and welfare regimes as theoretical frameworks. Following the literature on varieties of capitalism, we will outline the main characteristics of the variety of capitalism and the accompanying welfare regime developed in SEE after the break-up of Yugoslavia. Stressing the importance of the connection between paid and unpaid labour for understanding gender inequality, we will study the impact of the post-socialist transition and welfare transformation on the economic position of women regarding their access and status in the labour market as well as the availability of institutional support for care work.
Croatia and Serbia will be used as case studies in the paper and the data will consist of existing studies, official statistics from Eurostat and national statistical agencies, as well as our own calculations using the ISSP's ( International Social Survey Programme) research module "Family and Changing Gender Roles".
