Bosnia and Herzegovina - Country Gender Assessment

Fostering gender equality and enabling women’s economic participation is critical for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s development trajectory. Actively engaging, nurturing, and optimizing the diverse talents and capabilities of the population, especially of inactive segments, is paramount to sustained progress in poverty reduction and shared prosperity. Over the past decade, Bosnia, and Herzegovina (BiH) has made strides in gender equality, including narrowing gender gaps in education, increasing female life expectancy and female political participation, and reducing fertility rates. However, significant disparities persist in the labor market, entrepreneurship, earnings, occupational segregation, unpaid labor, and violence against women. This Country Gender Assessment provides empirical evidence and analyzes gender equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Methodologically, the report adopts the Gender Assessment framework proposed by the World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development (WDR 2012). Through this lens, the report scrutinizes recent progress and lingering challenges across three critical dimensions: Endowments, Economic opportunities, and Voice and Agency. Extensive research was conducted drawing from various data sources to gauge indicators such as health, education, labor market dynamics, and gender-based violence, among others. The structure of the report is as follows. Section 2 delves into the legal and institutional framework. Section 3 assesses gender equality from the perspective of human endowments. Section 4 discusses progress and challenges in economic opportunities. Section 5 focuses on issues related to voice and agency.