The objective of the research was to collect up-to-date data on women's role and status in society, in rural areas, on the farm, and in the family; women's participation in education, training, agricultural services and organizations; the level of household technology and knowledge of home economics; the social security system and legal issues confronting rural women; the greatest problems and priorities of rural women; and the latest research projects and development programmes involving rural women in the participating countries. Attention was focused on similarities among the countries as well as on differences. The results are, therefore, divided into two sections: generalizations on all the project countries, and separate country profiles.
The aim of the analysis was to draw a general picture of the situation of rural women in CEE countries, to identify any particular problems, and to describe the priorities of rural women in these countries for possible development into a national plan of action in the future. The results may also serve as guidelines for future activities of the Working Party on Women and Families in Rural Development (FAO/REU).
The data was collected by the Focal Informants in 1994. The preliminary report was verified by the Informants during 1994-95, and by the representatives of ministries in 1995 at a working seminar in Jäneda, Estonia, 13-16 June 1995.
The main research data comes from material collected by the focal informants in each country. All the data used are secondary, no rural women were interviewed. The questionnaire consists mainly of general statistical data (Annex 1). The data was collected from national statistical yearbooks (years 1990 to 1992) and complemented by up-to-date research data, where available. In addition, the Focal Informants were asked to estimate the greatest problems and the priority needs of rural women in their countries. The estimates given by national experts might be subjective.
Data was also collected for Austria, Ireland and Finland in order to compare the situation and status of rural women in these countries with those in the CEE countries. The Focal Informants were also asked to write short descriptions of their country, the agricultural sector, rural areas and women in society. Research reports were also enclosed by some respondents. In addition, the Mikkeli Institute collected both research and statistical data where available.
The validity and reliability of the data depends in large part on the work done by the Focal Informants. The Focal Informants were trained at a seminar in Nitra, Slovakia, from 17 to 19 January 1994. The method of data collection was chosen because most of the national data, both statistics and research reports, are published in the national language only; using national researchers meant that no information sources were closed.
Although all the Focal Informants worked reliably and collected valid data, caution should be taken when comparisons are made among countries. Each country has its own statistical system and the categories used are seldom exactly the same. Moreover, it was impossible to collect data from every country for the same year; the data given by the Focal Informants were taken from the years 1990 to 1994 (the year concerned is mentioned in the footnotes of the tables). All national statistical data given by the Focal Informants has been checked when possible in global statistical yearbooks.
Unfortunately, some information from the countries is unavailable either from national or global statistics. Comparisons among countries should be done cautiously because changes taking place in CEE countries are exceptionally rapid; information given for the years 1990 to 1994 may no longer be valid for 1995.
To avoid misunderstandings among the focal informants, all the essential concepts and definitions were discussed and decided beforehand in the training seminar. In this analysis the term rural areas applies to areas that are not cities or towns, which has a slightly different, culture-specific significance in each country (see Box 1).
The concept rural women means all women living in rural areas, including farm women. Certain questions concern farm women specifically, in which case attention is drawn to the fact in both the questionnaire and the analysis.
Box 1: Definitions of rural areas by country: Estonia: The entire country apart from settlements with more than 3000 inhabitants Latvia: Areas other than or suburbs Lithuania: Settlements not designated as urban in the legislation Poland: Localities usually with fewer than 2000 inhabitants Czech Rep: Settlements of up to 2000 inhabitants Slovakia: Settlements with populations of fewer than 5000 inhabitants Hungary: Settlements are administratively divided into tows (177) and villages (2915) - the villages are rural areas Slovenia: Official statistics distinguish between urban (179) and non-urban settlements (5766) Croatia: Areas around urban zones Bulgaria: No information on the definition given Finland: Sparsely populated areas and villages with fewer than 500 inhabitants Austria: Urban areas have been defined - the remaining are considered rural Ireland: Areas with fewer 1500 inhabitants |
