The project “Gender Equality for Cultural Diversity” was selected as one of the top six out of 1,027 proposals submitted from across the globe to UNESCO’s 2020 International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) call for proposals.

The lead organization was the Association Independent Cultural Scene of Serbia (Belgrade), in partnership with: Femix – Collective of Young Women (Belgrade), Rebellious Readers (Belgrade), MillenniuM NGO (Kragujevac), Kulturanova (Novi Sad), Elektrika (Pančevo), Kolektiv Studio 6 (Belgrade), and the Centre for Empirical Cultural Studies of South-East Europe (CECS) (Niš).

CECS led the research component of the project. The goal was to provide, through multiple research methods (survey, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group), an overview of the mechanisms that reproduce gender inequality in cultural life in Serbia in the early 2020s. Another objective was to identify institutions, groups, and individuals who should contribute to increasing the participation and fairer representation of women in the cultural field.

The first step was a survey conducted in spring and summer 2021, involving 206 women working in culture and creative industries across the public, private, and civil sectors. Respondents came from various regions of Serbia and represented a range of age groups. The survey was administered online using a questionnaire consisting of seven thematic sections.

The first section covered standard socio-demographic information (age, place of residence, education level). The second focused on the cultural sector respondents worked in, their profession, and the type of employment. The third addressed key problems encountered by women in culture, strategies for overcoming them, and actors who could contribute to greater gender equality. The fourth examined respondents’ class position (measured by levels of economic and cultural capital). The fifth explored the division of domestic labor, given its significant influence on professional life. The sixth section, using a Likert scale, explored respondents’ attitudes towards gender relations. The final section focused on experiences of gender-based discrimination during education and professional life.

Following the survey, 32 semi-structured interviews were conducted in autumn 2021 with: 9 female artists, 8 women cultural managers from institutions, 4 female entrepreneurs in culture, 4 theorists and researchers in the arts, and 7 freelancers or NGO workers. The regional distribution included: 6 from Belgrade, 5 from Šumadija and Western Serbia, 10 from Southern and Eastern Serbia, and 11 from Vojvodina.
The interviews focused on four thematic blocks:

  1. Educational experiences – including choice of education, content of gender-related curricula, and experiences with gender-based discrimination or sexual harassment during studies.
  2. Professional life – working conditions, relations with colleagues, (self)exploitation, work overload, and health consequences.
  3. Balancing private and professional life – division of parental and domestic duties, family support, and availability of free time.
  4. Workplace discrimination – whether being a woman had an impact (positive or negative) on career advancement; gendered division of labor and responsibility; leadership experiences; and sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace.

At the end of 2021, an online expert focus group was held with nine participants who have been long-term advocates of gender equality in Serbia’s cultural sector. While the survey and interviews aimed to assess the position and challenges of women working in culture, the focus group centred on policy recommendations. Discussion revolved around two key questions: How can the identified obstacles be overcome? Who are the key actors responsible and capable of reducing gender inequalities in the domestic cultural scene?

The results of the research were published in the book “Gender and Work in the Cultural Field in Serbia”, authored by Predrag Cvetičanin, Tatjana Nikolić, and Nađa Bobičić. The book is also available in English, translated by Milena Kozić.