The position of women in culture and cultural policy can be examined through the participation of women in leading positions in public institutions; on councils of public institutions; on national bodies in the field of culture; and on expert commissions of the Ministry of Culture.
Table 9: Share of women holding leading positions in public institutions, 2003
| National public institutions and funds | Municipal public institutions financed by the Ministry of Culture | General libraries | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. of directors | 27 | 40 | 60 |
| % share of women | 22.2% | 42.5% | 80% |
Sources: Ministry for Culture.
Table 10: Share of women as members and Presidents of Councils of public institutions, 2003
| National public institutions and Funds | Municipal public institutions financed by the Ministry of Culture | General libraries | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. of presidents | 27 | 40 | 60 |
| % share of women | 25.9% | 25% | 66% |
| No. of members | 146 | 223 | 430 |
| % share of women | 33.6% | 38.1% | 55.8% |
Sources: Ministry for Culture.
Percentage of Women in National Councils:
Table 11: Share of women on the National Council for Culture, 2003
| Number | Percentage of women | President | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Members | 7 | 28.6% | Man |
Sources: Ministry for Culture.
Table 12: Share of women on the National Council for librarianship, 2003
| Number | Percentage of women | President | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Members | 11 | 63.6% | Woman |
Sources: Ministry for Culture.
Table 13: Share of women on Expert Commissions of the Ministry of Culture, 2003
| Number | Percentage of women | |
|---|---|---|
| Members | 61 | 36% |
| Presidents | 16 | 31.3% |
Sources: Ministry for Culture.
The data shows that the number of women is decreasing with the importance of the position. The percentage of women holding leading positions in national public institutions as central and leading institutions is 20%, while in the municipal public institutions the percentage amounts to approximately 40%.
It is also evident that a great number of women, almost 80%, are employed as librarians. Regardless of this fact, the percentage of council members and presidents indicates that this percentage is decreasing on the level of management (there are only 59% female members and 66% chairwomen). This decrease can be explained by the fact that the municipalities, while appointing their representatives, are not bound to the profession of librarian. In this way they can include more men. The greater percentage of chairwomen than members of the council indicates the degree of trust and competence, which obviously recognises women in the field of librarianship. The highest position, Director of the National Library, is held by a man, yet the National Council for Librarianship is chaired by a woman. Many women are represented in this council (64%). In the National Council for Culture, which is an independent body appointed by the Parliament, there are 30% women, but the chairman is a man.
Although the majority of employees in the public cultural sector are women, the share of women in expert commissions of the Ministry of Culture only amounts to one third (35%). We should point out that in the field of cultural policy no special attention is paid to gender in regular hiring practices. However, the state is preparing a Resolution on the National Programme for Equal Opportunities of Men and Women (2005-2013), which defines the basis of gender equality politics in the Republic of Slovenia, sets goals, measures and key decisions in politics. In 2006, quotas of female political candidates were implemented for the first time.
The main initiative with an objective to produce and organise affirmative action projects, in order to draw attention to the disproportionately low participation and representation of women in the field of arts and culture, is undertaken by the Association for the Promotion of Women in Culture – City of Women. The City of Women International Festival of Contemporary Arts was first organised in 1995 in Ljubljana as an initiative of the Governmental Women’s Policy Office (later renamed as the Equal Opportunities Office) in order to draw attention to the relative lack of participation and presentation of women in the arts. Since 1996 it has been organised as an annual international festival of contemporary arts by the City of Women Association for Promotion of Women in Culture. The festival presents women artists from Slovenia and abroad working in different disciplines and contexts. Held annually in Ljubljana over a period of 10 days in October, the festival presents some 40 events, including theatre, visual arts, performance art, dance, film, video, literature, and multimedia, which relate to and discuss the selected theme of each year’s festival. The 17th edition of the festival in October 2011 was called Abrakadabra, featuring the secrecy, illusions, rites and imagination that actually reflect the social, political and individual transformations (source: Culture.si).
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