Bulgaria

The nation of Bulgaria is situated in the southeastern part of Europe. It is a former Communist country and now a member state of European Union, since 2007. Bulgaria has a population of about 7.3 million, 71 percent of which live in urban areas. The average life expectancy for women is 76 years, and literacy rate is 98 percent.

The realities that Bulgarian women have to face at the beginning of the 21st century are common to most of the women of the postcommunist countries which undertook the transition from a totalitarian regime and central planning to democracy and market economy. The entire political and economic setting of Bulgaria was shaken by these political and economic changes and as a result the roles and positions of women, both in the public and the private sphere, were challenged.

Equal rights for men and women are guaranteed by national legislation. These legal provisions are reinforced by the compulsory compliance to the equality mechanisms of the European Union. The number of legal cases of gender discrimination had been small, but these had increased from 2008 through 2010 as a result of a growing awareness of women of their individual rights. A telling example in this sense is the suit against the Defense Ministry initiated by two women on the grounds that women have no right to serve in the National Guards.

The healthcare system in Bulgaria is a mix of public and private funding, with a mandatory health insurance. The state expenditure on healthcare is about 7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. Prophylactic health screenings for diseases that affect women are mandatory. Abortion is legal and the percentage of abortions per number of pregnancies has decreased from 45 percent in 2000 to 34 percent by 2006.

The transition to a market economy has raised a critical issue of “feminization of poverty” all across the central and eastern European countries. This problem is still far from being solved in Bulgaria. Even if the pay gap has closed to the European Union average-of about 15 percent-the wages are still among the lowest in the European Union. There is a 10 percent employment gap between men and women and about 60 percent of those who seek a job are women. The sectors of the economy [Page 202]where women are mostly concentrated are textiles and clothing, leather and fur products, education, healthcare and social work, financial intermediation, and hotels and restaurants.

Traditionally, Bulgarian women perpetuate the role of housekeeper carrying out housework on behalf of the entire family. This situation remained virtually unchanged during the 60 years of the Communist period. At present, women still face the double burden of the labor market and the unpaid family work, as policies for work-life balance are still to be implemented. The average age when women marry is 24 years, versus that of 28 years for men.

There are low numbers of women in the upper layers of bureaucracy and the number of women in politics is far from being balanced. Still, in comparison with other countries of the region, Bulgaria has a relatively higher political mobilization of women's interests and has a high number of visible women. It is worth noting that the Party of Bulgarian Women had an important electoral success in the 2001 elections. This party has ruled in a government coalition and contributed toward increasing descriptive representation of women in politics. Then two Bulgarian women were appointed as national representatives in the European Union Commission, in 2007 and in 2009. Not least, after a period of 130 years, Sofia, the capital city, has a women mayor again.

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