EMPLOYMENT POSITION FOR RE WOMEN: UNEMPLOYED FOR DECADES 

DATA FROM THE EMPLOYMENT AGENCY SHOWS THAT LAST YEAR ALMOST THE SAME NUMBER OF FEMALE AND MALE MEMBERS FROM THE RE COMMUNITY GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET EMPLOYED. HOWEVER, THE PERCENTAGE OF UNEMPLOYED WOMEN IS ABOUT A SIXTH HIGHER THAN OF MEN FROM THE SAME POPULATION

When she got a job as a mediator in an elementary school in Nikšić, Velbana Naza points out that she spent more than half of her life unemployed. Unlike many others who also graduated high school, fifty-year-old Naza had one more obstacle on her way to employment – she is a member of the Roma and Egyptian population.

"Why would somebody want to employ a gypsy? This sentence can still be heard often. I don't know when they will stop using it", Naza, who graduated from business school in 1992, summed up her experience of job searching for the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG).

Her example illustrates the position of women from Roma and Egyptian families on the labor market, who have a more challenging time finding a job than men from the community. Data from the Employment Agency show that in the last year, almost the same number of men and women from the RE community got the opportunity to get a job. However, the percentage of unemployed women is about a sixth higher than of men from the same population.

On the last day of June, the records of the Employed Agency included 555 men and 643 women from the RE population under the unemployed category. Although the majority are women with completed primary education, there were also two Roma women with university degrees.

Regional research results also show that many employers believe Roma's employment negatively affects their company's working environment.

From the institution of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms, they said that the employment rate among marginalized Roma is still worrying. In contrast, their informal employment continues to be the dominant model.

As a result of discriminatory practices, Roma and Egyptians have access, in most cases, only to the informal economy and precarious work that is poorly paid. According to a UNDP survey from 2017, 61 percent of Roma and Egyptians are employed in the informal sector, compared to 33 percent of members of the majority population. CEDEM's research from 2019 showed a high degree of overall ethnic distancing towards the Roma, which demonstrates the low level of willingness to employ members of the RE community," Sokolj Beganaj, head of the Department for Promotion and Protection of Rights of Roma and Egyptians in the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights stated. 

Patriarchy is an obstacle to employment

CIN-CG interlocutors indicate that men usually work and financially provide for the family. 

It is hard for women to get a job. In addition to the fact that women are forced to stay at home and take care of a large family, the barriers are prejudice, low educational status, and insufficient trust of the general population towards Roma and Egyptians. Many believe that a woman should stay at home with the children.

Members of the Roma and Egyptian nationality face multiple discrimination even within the community itself since the patriarchy is still present, which affects gender equality, Fana Delija, the executive coordinator of the Center for Roma Initiatives (CRI), points out.

"Roma and Egyptian women in 90 percent of cases depend on male family members, considering that there is a high degree of illiteracy. Also, more than 90 percent of women in this population are unemployed. Roma and Egyptian women marry and become mothers very young, so they do not have an opportunity to finish high school or college, or this opportunity is limited. But even worse is that they often do not have an opportunity to finish elementary school," Delija says.

All this causes poverty, which prevents integration and a better future.

Delija points out that community members who complete secondary education are rarely employed in the profession but most often work in utility companies or seasonal jobs.

Discrimination does exist

Discrimination is most present during employment. This is one of the research conclusions of focus groups conducted for the needs of CIN-CG and CRI.

"For example, when I look for a job, I go to the hair salon, and they tell me: 'You know what, we'll let you know.' Maybe it is because of the headscarf, my name, or my surname. Anyhow, discrimination exists," said the focus group participant from Podgorica, who has completed high school.

A low level of self-initiative in the search for a job is one of the obstacles that a woman cannot provide herself with the conditions for employment.

Naza told CIN-CG that she paid for the training, which helped her get a job.

"I took the chance," she told CIN-CG, adding that she had always wanted to work in education and was persistent.

The interlocutors emphasize that to provide adequate support to women it is necessary to develop and improve support models based on practical training. However, it is not enough to organize and implement activities without sustainability. After completing the training, it is necessary that the women are engaged in work and that this engagement lasts longer than a few months.

As for the salaries, the interviewees from the focus groups answered that there are two types of payments - to the bank account and "under the table."

"The salaries are mostly paid into employees' bank accounts, but there are those who work in the private sector, so they are paid in cash," a participant from Nikšić said.

Education, the field in which Naza works, is seen by the institution of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms as a unique opportunity for the employment of Roma and Egyptian women. The Government and the relevant ministries have been asked to allow teaching assistants for RE students to establish an employment relationship for an indefinite period.

"The goal of the recommendations was to move the occupation of associate in social inclusion RE in the field of education from the category of occasional and unforeseen jobs to the category of permanent and systematized jobs. The recommendations were made in 2020 and still have not been implemented," the institution warned in an interview with CIN-CG.

Rare examples of employment in public administration

The representative of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, Sokolj Beganaj, told CIN-CG that apart from him, one person from the RE community works in the Ministries of Internal Affairs, one in the Ministry of European Affairs and Labor and one in the Ministry of Social Welfare, while three people work in the Ministry of Health "in the Health Centers Podgorica, Nikšić and Berane, as associates in the social inclusion of RE in the field of health."

Beganaj adds that the Ministry of Education hires 20 to 22 mediators in the social inclusion of Roma and Egyptians in the field of education for nine months every school year on a job opening, but not all hired persons are members of the community.

The Capital City pointed out that, for example, three representatives of the RE population work as the associates of Mayor Ivan Vuković - an administrative associate of the Mayor's Office, an administrative associate in the city office, and a technical support associate of the Information System Center.

The Capital City also has a special Office that deals with important issues for the RE population. 

The Secretary of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje, Haris Malagić, said that one member of the RE population has an indefinite-term contract in the Office for Roma in the Secretariat for Local Self-Government. In the Utility Company, one man has a permanent contract, while four have fixed-term contracts. 

One member of the RE population works in the Municipality of Berane. The RE representative in the Secretariat for Culture, Sports, Youth, and Social Welfare of the Municipality of Nikšić efficiently communicates with the community in addressing their problems. 

The Municipality of Nikšić points out that projects related to the employment of members of this population were implemented but that their work engagement lasted only during the project implementation. The Municipality stated that last year a project that envisaged the awarding of grants to entrepreneurs to train and employ a new workforce, with an emphasis on RE and PwD population, was launched. However, not a single member of the RE population was employed.

In Tivat, the procedure for drafting the "Local Action Plan for the Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians in the Municipality of Tivat for 2022-2026" has begun" but, as the Municipality stated, it was not adopted due to the unstable political situation in the city.

However, the Secretariat for the Economy organized several trainings this and last year related to the promotion of employment, which include a competition for female entrepreneurship, measures to support agriculture, workshops on irrigation and soil cultivation...

Tivat Municipality said that no members of the RE population were employed in the administration; about 10 are employed in the Tivat Waterworks and at least 20 in the Utility Companies.

"Both companies mainly employ members of the RE population as operative employees. Female members of the RE population are primarily employed in hospitality ", it is stated in answer to the question about gender representation.

"Based on observations made in work with the RE community, as well as through conversations with users of various forms of support, we conclude that Roma women, as members of the minority community in Montenegro, are in a worse position than men," Dijana Anđelić, project coordinator at NGO HELP, told CIN-CG.

According to her, the main reason is that underage Roma girls enter extramarital unions more often than young men; they are often victims of violence in many ways and often suffer ill health. 

In the previous period, the HELP organization implemented several projects to support the employment of the RE population, especially Roma women. The German government and the European Union supported the projects in the amount of around 700,000 euros. HELP said that through their programs, they provided support to about 400 Roma women.

A unique business incubator in RE settlement

When asked by CIN-CG how the position of members of the RE population can be improved in the employment process, Delija said that this can be achieved "by introducing employing subsidies for hiring a certain number of members of the RE nationality."

Bearing in mind that a large number of adults in the community do not possess a certain level of qualifications that are competitive in the labor market, it is necessary, in Delia's opinion, to develop employment models following the degree and knowledge they possess - craft jobs, agricultural jobs, etc. It is also necessary to encourage young people who have completed a certain level of education to be employed in their profession and connect them with employers.

The institution of the Ombudsman stated that affirmative action measures for the RE community would be implemented until the position of this community is sufficiently improved.

As one of the positive examples, they pointed out the opening of the first business incubators for members of the RE population in Konik. "The conditions for carpenters, hairdressers, beauticians, electricians, and seamstresses have been created to independently and legally earn income for their families."

The Red Cross of Montenegro (RCM) said that at the very beginning, the business incubator consisted of nine members of the RE population.

They had completed vocational training for vocations registered in the business incubator. After completing the training, RCM, in cooperation with partners, supported them during the registration process. The goal was for these persons to no longer be registered with the Employment Agency but to become independent entrepreneurs.

RCM also supported the furnishing and adaptation of working space. In addition, the members of the business incubator were exempted from paying utilities. They were also provided support for paying taxes for the first two years of engaging in craft activities.

Four members of the RE population are part of the business incubator, providing tailoring, hairdressing, and beautician services.

"We have to say that this was a big step forward because since they are no longer unemployed, they are not entitled to receive social security benefits. They showed the courage to make the economic contribution to their families on their own", the RCM told CIN-CG.

The lowest rate of employed Roma women in the region

The UNDP report from 2018 on the employment of members of this community in the region shows that Roma women in Montenegro have an employment rate that is five times lower than that of Roma men and eight times lower than neighboring non-Roma women. 

Montenegro had the lowest employment rate of Roma women aged 15 to 65 in the region - only three percent. Among non-Roma women, that percentage was 24 percent.

That difference was minor in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the ratio was four to six and four to 15 percent. In Serbia, it was nine to 30 percent for non-Romani women; in Albania, 11 to 22 percent; and in North Macedonia, 13 to 26 percent.

The data showed that one out of two employed Roma women had no health or pension insurance.

The previously published Roma Inclusion Index 2015 showed that, for example, in Montenegro, 11% fewer Roma are employed than others; if only Roma females are taken into account, the gap is 39%. 

Regarding informal work, it accounted for five percent of the total population; for Roma, it was 56 percent, and in the case of Roma women, 51 percent.

Regarding unemployment, compared to 20 percent of the general population, that percentage was 30 percent for Roma and 41 percent for Roma women. The long-term unemployment rate in the general population was 16 percent, among Roma, 24 percent, and among Roma women, 47 percent.

Montenegro had the lowest share of representatives of vulnerable groups in the companies - only four percent. At the regional level, that percentage is 17.

Miloš RUDOVIĆ