SLOVENE WOMEN IN THE LABOUR MARKET - A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

In the Republic of Slovenia, women constitute more than half of the active labour force and a large majority are employed full-time. The numerous and intensive employment of women in this region is a matter of long tradition and is historically speaking comparatively unique. Ultimately, an explanation as to why in this region we can observe the employment of women in the modern era from an analysis of available sources remains open. In addition to answering the question why, research can lead to an understanding of how, in which ways, in what conditions, and with what consequences women in Slovenia actively engaged in the paid labour market. Thus, for example, retrograde analyses reveal the legal framework of female paid labour in the contemporary Slovenian labour market as a consequence of historical development and persistent original laws. Important discoveries, which are related to the current status of women in the Slovenian labour market, confront us with the stark feminization (with all of its attendant consequences) of entire types of occupation which we can include in the service industries of the tertiary sector, for example, retail (mainly small retail), hospitality, banking, etc., and in the area of consumer services such as health, education, and social services. Within the secondary sector of the economy female labour was especially concentrated in labour intensive industries such as food processing and the manufacture of textiles. The distribution of women among these industries in Slovenia took place at the time these industries began to develop, that is, in the last decade of the 19(th) century and in the first decade of the 20(th) century. We can propose the thesis that following the entry of women into the labour market they were able to transform areas of traditional work, such as food preparation, textile manufacture, and caring for the sick, into paid labour. These were tasks that were ascribed as "natural" to women. Nonetheless, these were considered unproductive occupations, which were obligatory for women. As a result they were given lesser significance and value. Hence, what remains problematic to this day is that these jobs were paid less and allotted lesser social status.