COST
Social Sciences and Humanities
COST Action (A34)
Gender and Well-Being:
Interaction between Work, Family and Public Policies
SOCIAL INDICATORS REPORT 2005-06
Reporter:
Daniela Koleva
CONTENTS
1. Introduction / p.31.1. Preliminary remarks on the concept of well-being in Bulgaria / p.3
1.2. Comments / p.3
2. Bibliography / p.4
3. Experts and organisations / p.4
4. Historical enquiries / p.5
5. Statistical Sources / p.6
6. Reports / p.6
1. Introduction
1.1. Preliminary remark on the concept of well-being in Bulgaria
It should be noted that the concept of well-being is not generally used in Bulgarian social science and historical studies. Prior to 1990, it was rather a part of the dominant rhetoric, the task “to increase the well-being of the working people” figuring prominently in Communist Party documents.
During the past 15 years, related research conducted by both national and international bodies (esp. the World Bank) has been focused on poverty. Living standard has traditionally been a major concept that has remained in use in most statistical research focused mainly on revenue and consumption. Therefore, the information collected and roughly systematised below refers to sources that more or less cover indicators of well-being (such as employment, education, income, consumption) but do not use the concept of well-being.
1.2. Comments
While some indicators (life expectancy, literacy, level of education, employment and occupation) have normally been disaggregated by gender, an awareness of the gender dimension of different aspects of well being (and poverty respectively) has begun to develop only in recent years. This seems to reflect a wider international tendency in research and data accumulation in this sphere, but it is also a result of the breakdown of socialism and of the demise of communist emancipation ideology. As far as research on poverty is concerned, gender dimensions are stressed together with the concern about the “ethnicisation” of poverty and are sometimes obscured by the latter. The specificity of gender differences within different ethnic groups however seems to be insufficiently brought forward in most statistical sources. In all cases, the overall indicators are broken down by gender (or ethnicity, respectively) rather than attempting to construct separate indicators for males and females to capture qualitatively different aspects of their condition.
Most Bulgarian research on the aspects of well being relies on easily quantifiable and measurable indicators. Only lately, there has appeared some awareness of the “subjective” dimensions, such as the psychological dimensions of poverty, the self-perception and self-assessment of the individuals, etc. Furthermore, the indicators used refer predominantly to the economic and the public sphere. However, well being seems to be at least partly related to activities and conditions in the private sphere as well. Gender inequality in the home is much less visible and measurable using the standard theoretical and empirical methods.
2. Bibliography
- Women and men in Republic of Bulgaria. 2002 National Statistical Institute [Assessment of gender equality based on: demographic indicators, health, education, employment, participation in government]
- Tsanov, V. and B. Bogdanov, 2004. `Measuring Poverty in Bulgaria`. Economic Thought, 4:3-27. (in Bulgarian)
- Tsanov, V. 2001. `Income Policy During the 90-ties: State, Effects and Long-term Perspective`. Economic Thought, 1: 3-22. (in Bulgarian)
- Household Budgets in the Republic of Bulgaria. National Statistical Institute, 2004.
- Goev, V., V. Vandev, D. Tsvetkov et al 2002. Control, evaluation and development of monitoring of poverty. Statistika, 4: 3-7. (in Bulgarian)
- Mircheva, D. 2003. Aproaches to analysis of living standard and poverty. Statistika , 3: 22-39. (in Bulgarian)
- Tsanov, V. et al. 2005. Bulgaria: challenges to poverty. National Statistical Institute. (in Bulgarian)
- Employment and Unemployment. Quarterly of the National Statistical Institute (in Bulgarian)
- Rural Women at the Threshold of the New Century, ALJA Press, Sofia, 2000 (in Bulgarian)
3. Experts and organisations
Pavlina Fillipova
Women’s Alliance for Development
52 Neofit Rilski st.
Sofia 1000, Bulgaria
Tel./Fax: ++359 2 980 55 32, 980 94 47, 980 59 20
E-mail:
http://www.women-bg.org/
Tatyana Kmetova
Centre of Women’s Studies and Policies
6, Triaditsa st., floor 1, office 101
Sofia 1000, Bulgaria
Tel./Fax: ++ 359 2 980 62 65
E-mail:
http://www.cwsp.bg
Dr. Lilia Dimova
Agency for Social Analyses
“Mladost” 2 P.O.B. 74
Sofia 1799, Bulgaria
Tel.: ++359 2 986 10 72; ++359 2 917 04 55
E-mail:
Stanimira Hadjimitova
Gender Project for Bulgaria Foundation
37 B, Peter Parchevich st.
Sofia 1000, Bulgaria
Tel./Fax: ++359 2 986 47 10
E-mail:
http://www.gender-bg.org
Dr. Krassimira Daskalova
Bulgarian Association of University Women
125, Tzarigradsko Shausse
Block 3, Room 418 1113 Sofia
Tel/Fax: (359) 2 70 73 42
E-mail:
http://www.bauw.hit.bg/
Institute of Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Dr. Roumiana Stoilova
13 A Moskovska Str.
Sofia 1000, Bulgaria
Tel.: (359 2) 9809935 Fax: (359 2) 9805895
http://www.cl.bas.bg/sociology
Center for Population Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Acad. G. Bonchev str. Bl.6, fl.6
Sofia 1113, Bulgaria
Tel./Fax: (359 2) 8705303
http://cps.bas.bg
Genoveva Tisheva
Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation (BGRF)
5, Evlogui Gueorguiev Blvd., 1000 Sofia - P.O.Box 938, 1000 Sofia
Tel/Fax: ++359 2 9635357; ++359 2 9635357
E-mail: ;
http://www.bgrf.org
4. Historical enquiries
- Daskalov, R. Bulgarian Society 1878-1939. Vol. 1 State, Politics, Economy. Vol. 2: Population, Society, Culture. Gutenberg Publishing House. Sofia, 2005. (in Bulgarian)
- Kiranov, P. The Woman. Legal, Economic and Social Situation. Book 1: Family and Family Legislature. Sofia 1929 (in Bulgarian)
- Todorova, M. Balkan Family Structure and the European Pattern: Demographic Developments in Ottoman Bulgaria. Washington DC: American University Press, 1993.
- Todorova, O. Women from the Central Balkans in Ottoman Times (ХVth-ХVІІth c.). Gutenberg Publishing House. Sofia, 2004, 515 p (in Bulgarian).
- Yanulov, I. Social Security in the Capitalist and the Socialist System. Sofia: BAS 1964. (in Bulgarian)
- Yanulov, I. Social Policy of Bulgaria during the war 1915-1918. In: Spisanie na Bulgarskata akademia na naukite i izkoustvoto, kn. 62, Sofia 1941, pp. 41-262. (in Bulgarian)
- Yanulov, I. Social Policy Abroad and in Bulgaria (Reasons, Development and Systems). Sofia 1924 (in Bulgarian)
5. Statistical Sources
1. National Statistical Institute (http://www.nsi.bg/)
Related areas of work:
- Population and Housing (demographic indicators: age structure, ageing rate, fertility rate, life expectancy, (infant) mortality rate)
- Labour Market (disaggregated by gender)
- Education (disaggregated by gender)
- Social statistics (household budgets, no gender disaggregating).
- - Time Use Surveys 1970-71, 1976-77, 1988, 2001-02 (disaggregated by gender)
The Institute reports to have updated its methodology in compliance with the internationally adopted criteria.
2. International statistical databases (EUROSTAT, GenderStats, Social Watch, UNDP, ILO, ISSP). Partly at least, the data on Bulgaria in these databases, are supplied again by the National Statistical Institute.
6. Reports
Public institutions rely exclusively on data submitted by the National Statistical Institute according to the methodologies and indicators adopted by the Institute.
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