GENDER EQUALITY IN

BULGARIA
COUNTRY PROFILE
TABLE OF CONTENT
General participation of women and man in the labor market.
Part-time segregation of women and man.
Qualification level and choice of education.
Occupation by sectors Horizontal segregation.
Hierarchical levels Vertical segregation.
Gender pay gap.
Legislative initiatives.

2
 70.0
64.0
LABOUR
58.0 60.0 MARKET

Female participation in the labor

market is on the rise in Bulgaria
and in some aspects has reached
EU-27 level.

BG % EU %
Male Female

3
 32.1
PART-TIME
SEGREGATION

Part-time employment only plays

a minor role in the Bulgarian
labor market. No more than 2.5%
of Bulgaria's female employees
are working part-time. This is the
8.4 lowest female part-time rate in
the EU-27 and thus ranks
substantially below the EU-27
2.5 average.
2

BG % EU %
Male Female

4
 QUALIFICATION
77 77.1
70.8 70.9
LEVEL AND
EDUCATION

Secondary school (secondary

education) and
college/university (tertiary
education) attainment of
Bulgarian men and women rose
25.2 23.1 25.8 in the last decade.
16.1

Secondary Education % Tertiary Education %

Male(BG) Female(BG) Male(EU) Female(EU)

5
 QUALIFICATION LEVEL AND EDUCATION
With regard to women's fields of study in Bulgaria, the trend for typical female fields of studies
follows the European trend.

76.4 73.9
71.3 67.9 65.3
63.3 65.9
58.1
45.7 48.1 49.7 45.3 49.1
37.6
31.3
25.7

Training and Humanities Social Math and Engineering Agriculture Health and Servicies
Education and Arts sciences Computing and and Welfare
science construction veterinary
Female(BG) Female(Eu)

6
 5.4
OCCUPATION BY
4.6 4.6
SECTORS
4

Horizontal segregation is less

pronounced in Bulgaria than in
the EU-27. In order to compare
the extent of horizontal
segregation in Bulgaria with the
overall EU-27 average, two
horizontal segregation indicators
are calculated:
1-Sectorial Gender Segregation
Indicator (SGS).
2-Occupational Gender
Segregation Indicator (OGS).
SGS % OGS %
Male Female

7
SECTORS OF FEMALE EMPLOYMENT % BG EU
Manufacturing 21,8 10,2
Wholesale & Retail 20,3 15,1
OCCUPATION BY
Education 10,9 11,7 SECTORS
Health & Social work 8,1 18,2
Public Administration 7,5 7,1 68.6% of women and 65.0% of
men are employed in their
Accumulated concentration 68,6 62,3 respective five most common
sectors.
Explaining these numbers one
SECTORS OF MALE EMPLOYMENT % BG EU has to take the history of the
country into account:
Manufacturing 19,7 20,4
The focus on manufacturing is
Wholesale & Retail 15,8 13,1 still related to a predominantly
industrial past, a relict of the
Education 12,1 12,1 economical integration in the
Health & Social work 9,1 7,3 USSR.
Public Administration 8,3 7,0
Accumulated concentration 65,0 59,9
8
SECTORS OF FEMALE EMPLOYMENT % BG EU
Sales workers 11,0 8,0
Personal service workers 10,9 13,4
OCCUPATION BY
Business & Administration 10,0 5,6 SECTORS
Cleaners and Helpers 8,6 9,0
General clerks 8,4 12,7 The difference in the five most
Accumulated concentration 48,9 48,7 popular occupations , however,
displays stronger differences
between women and men which
are very much in line with the
SECTORS OF MALE EMPLOYMENT % BG EU general EU-27 trend.
Drivers & mobile plants operators 13,7 7,4
Personal service workers 9,0 5,4
Metal, machinery and related trades 8,8 8,6
Building and related trades 8,3 9,9
Laborers in mining and construction 6,9 1,5
Accumulated concentration 46,7 32,8
9
 33
31
HIERARCHICAL
LEVELS

Vertical segregation is more

16 pronounced in Bulgaria than in
the EU-27.
12 However the share of women in
(executive) management
positions in large companies and
SMEs is closer to the EU-27
average.

Corporate boards % Management in SMSs %

Female(BG) Female(EU)

10
 87
GENDER PAY GAP.

The gender pay gap in Bulgaria is

(87,0%) and is thus smaller than
on EU-27 average (83,8%). Thus
the average female employee
83.8 earns 87.0% of the average male
employees salary.

BG % EU %
Female

11
LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES
LEGISLATIVE
YEAR LEGISLATION
1986-2011 Labour Code Article 8, Paragraph 3
INITIATIVES.
2002 Employment Promotions Act

2003 Law on Protection against Discrimination In order to foster a sustainable

change towards accessing the
labor force potential of women in
a better way, a series of public
and private initiatives with
legislative and non-legislative
focus - have been implemented in
Bulgaria.

12
PUBLIC NON-LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES
NAME
Social Investments in Children
Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against
Women
The National Action Plans on
Employment
National Plan on Gender Equality
National Programme in Support of
Motherhood
SPONSOR
Ministry of Labor and Social Policy
United Nations
Ministry of Labor and Social Policy
and Council of Ministers
Ministry of Labor and Social Policy
Ministry of Labor and Social Policy
TARGET GROUP TARGET
Transform child allowances in "social
investments" through the payment of nursery
Young families
fees, food from the school canteen, clothes, shoes,
text books and stationery, and food products
Erase violence against women and recommend as
National legislation
well as suggest respective legislative action
Provide work for 34,600 people with a budget of
Unemployed people 37.3 million and create environmentally friendly
jobs
Encourage equality in decision making, awareness
Society overall raising and elimination of gender stereotypes for
the roles of women and men
Support of motherhood to create conditions for
Unemployed
improving employment prospects and career
Women
development for mothers of young children
13
PRIVATE INITIATIVES
NAME
Bringing the EU Home
Center of Women's Studies and
Policies (CWSP)
Women's Alliance for Development
Bulgarian Gender Research
Foundation
The Bulgarian Association of
University Women
Youth Program 2009 -2013
SPONSOR
Open Society Foundation Romania
and the Network Womens Program
of the Open Society Institute
International Labor Organisation
European Youth Foundation to the
Council of Europe
NOVIB
Global Fund for Women
Charles Stuart Mott Foundation
Lawyers, academics, experts in
advocacy and education
The International Federation of
University Women (IFUW)
University Women of Europe (UWE)
European Network for womens
Studies (ENWS)
The Bulgarian Fund for Women
TARGET GROUP
National and European
players from politics and
civil society
National players from
politics and civil society
National players from
business, politics and civil
society
National players from
business, academics and
politics
Young female academics
discussion
Young women and girls,
including those of Roma
ethnic origin
TARGET
Monitor the progress of EU candidate countries
and ensure that they meet the Copenhagen
political criteria, particularly in relation to
minorities rights
Advise the executive and integrate equality and
gender related issues into the public discussion
Work for equal opportunities of women and
men in all spheres of live, raise public
awareness about gender issues, improve
women's access to economic resources
Promote gender equality, reproductive rights
and anti-discrimination, prevent domestic
violence, elaborate and produce research,
analyses and draft laws.
Support young female academics and provide
gender related research as a basis for public
Provide knowledge, organizational and
leadership skills for professional development
of girls and women
14
GENDER EQUALITY IS NOT A
WOMANS ISSUE.
IT IS A HUMAN ISSUE.
IT AFFECTS US ALL!

THE END