Attitudes of the Population

Abstract

Institutional path dependency from the communist era strongly influences post-communist family policy, but it does not determine it altogether. It is still possible for policymakers to choose other options. The fact that few policymakers support degenderizing policies does pose a major obstacle to the achievement of gender equality, as does the inability of the women’s movement to influence policy and the lack of interest in the population at large in pressuring governments to change direction. Furthermore, the communist legacy accounts in large part for the genderized values of policymakers and the anti-feminist atmosphere among citizens.