Attitudes Towards Gender Roles and Gender Role Behaviour Among Urban, Rural, and Farm Populations in Slovenia

This paper aims to contribute to still existing discussion about the origins of the unequal gender roles in society. Albeit significant changes in redefinition of the gender roles under the impact of economic and cultural globalisation the unequal position of women in private and public spheres still persists even in societies with the most developed economies and welfare systems. The basic argument followed in the study is that working arrangements women choose are not simply in accordance with their preferences and attitudes, but a result of complex interplay of attitudes and practical constrains embodied in contextual factors. The result of the study based on the Second European Comparative Survey on the Acceptance of Population-related Policies (PPA2) for Slovenia support that argument by showing that certain contexts (type of place of residence and the way of making a living -like farming) still significantly delineate women lives. In spite of common national specifics (long tradition of high women's employment, favourable gender equality legislation and availability of institutions and services for working mothers) and relatively similar attitudes towards gender roles among the population, farm women in Slovenia considerably diverge in their daily life patterns (e.g. taking care of children) and preferences to combine family and working life from urban and even rural women and in general from men as well. Based on such results, reflected by ample gender rural studies' evidences, it can be argued, that not simply natural predispositions affect farm women's occupational choices, but undoubtedly also the fact they are living on the farm. Dans cet article, l'auteur prend part au débat en cours sur les origines de la différence de situation entre les hommes et les femmes au sein de la société. Malgré les changements importants apportés à la définition des rôles impartis à chaque sexe sous l'influence de la mondialisation économique et culturelle, les femmes se trouvent toujours dans une situation d'inégalité par rapport aux hommes dans leur vie privée et publique, et ce même dans les sociétés dont les économies et les systèmes d'aide sociale sont les plus développés. Dans son article, l'auteur affirme que les formes d'emploi choisies par les femmes ne correspondent pas seulement à leurs préférences et à leurs points de vue mais sont également le résultat d'une interaction complexe entre les points de vue et les limites pratiques résultant des facteurs con