Gender policies in Albania from a European perspective

Proceedings of The 7th International Academic Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences

Year: 2022

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/7th.iachss.2022.08.105

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Gender policies in Albania from a European perspective

Dr. Erjon Nexhipi, Dr. Adelina Nexhipi

 

ABSTRACT: 

Traditionally, the Albanian society was male-dominated. Between the two World Wars, efforts were made to improve the status of women, but these efforts yielded limited results. During the communist regime, a top-down approach led to significant improvements in women’s participation in social, economic and political life. A genuine gender movement in Albania began only after the 90s, accompanied by comprehensive reforms aimed at democratizing the country. Despite challenges during the transition period, Albanian women have achieved high levels in education, the labor market and public life. As part of the European integration process, the Albanian governments have adopted and implemented gender equality policies, in line with the European legislation and international conventions.

This study employs both qualitative and quantitative approaches to describe and analyze the efforts and achievements of the Albanian government post-1990s in implementing international gender equality principles, considered as a fundamental right for sustainable societal development. The study analyzes gender equality in Albania, in five indicators; equality before the law, involvement in political life, involvement in the labor market, involvement in education and participation in public life, based on statistical data, empirical studies and legal framework. It draws upon domestic legal frameworks, international conventions, statistics, and analyses by both Albanian and foreign scholars. As Albania has officially commenced negotiations for EU membership, the purpose of this study is to understand Albania’s trajectory in gender policies within the scope of its European integration efforts. Albania has made significant improvements in the framework of gender equality, such as the mentality, the legal basis, the establishment of supporting institutions, however these developments still suffer the poor implementation and lack of clear and measurable gender indicators.

keywords: gender equality, women empowerment, gender quotas, legal framework.