No equality, but a place in the sun

Press, 24 February 1977, Page 10

No equality, but a place in the sun

B;

STEVEN V. ROBERTS,

in the “New York Times”

Athens

If a Greek man is asked to describe his family, he might say something like. ‘‘l have three children and one girl.” This expression reflects a traditional attitude in Greek culture — that women are second-class citizens whose main function is to serve men. As an Athens daily newspaper. “Ta Nea." said recently: “In Greece women differ only slightly from slaves, and this is due to the lack of courage in men." Today, that imbalance is starting to shift. New legislation is now' being drafted that will eliminate sex discrimination and make women legal equals. The Government announced recently that it would conscript women into the armed forces in times of national need. DIFFICULT TRANSITION The legislation follows significant social and economic changes that are already taking place More women are getting an education and taking jobs outside the home, and one of Europe's strongest bastions of male supremacy is increasingly threatened. Greece’s transition from a backward Balkan nation to a modern member of Europe is a difficult and painful process.

More important, Greece is still a relativeiy-poor place' that offers limited opportun-i ity for advancement, and ■ men fear and resent the grow- ■ ing competition from women. I When a telephone company I announced examinations this'

month for H 4 jobs, more than 10,000 persons took the

test. In the past. Greek law made the man head of the household, which gave him unquestioned authority to decide where the family lived, how it spent its money, even w hat it named its children. This legal position has been reinforced by childrearing practices. “Bovs are encouraged to be aggressive. and girls are encouraged to be quiet.” noted Anne Mangrioti. an economist and mother of two. Boys are trained for a role in the world and girls for a role in the home." As a result, 60 per cent of Greece’s school dropouts and 80 per cent of its illiterates are women. Last year, Greece adopted a new constitution that gave men and women “equal rights and obligations.” The charter allowed Parliament seven years to implement this clause, and it caused little stir at the time, but its full implications are now starting to be realised. According to Professor Andreas Gazis. who heads a commission to draft new' legislation, men will now be legally responsible for helping with housework and child care, particularly if; their wives are out working. At the same time, women will be responsible for con-] tributing to the family’s fin-I ancial support. although; housework will be considered part of that contribution, the i professor explained.

The new constitution also w’ipes out laws that discriminate on questions of work, pay and pensions. For example, the minimum wage for women is lower than for

Some economists say, however, that if women received equal pay they w’ould seldom find jobs. Employers prefer men. goes the argument. and hire women only to save money. Feminists retort that Greek employers must be disabused of the “old husband’s tale” that women work less efficiently and leave jobs more frequently.

“This is a general problem for the whole Western world, not only for Greece,” Professor Gazis said. “If we go on as we are now. in the year 2000 there will be 80 million Turks and only 12 million Greeks.”

men, and studies show’ that women average about 57 per cent of the pay earned by men in comparable jobs.

Last year, women accounted for about half the ■ entering class in Greek uni- ' versifies, while 15 years ago they were only one-quarter. The urban population has grown dramatically in the same period, and w'omen are now earning more money, learning more about the world, and gaining more independence. Many feminists feel that legal equality and male good will will solve only part of the problem. The next step is to create the institutions and arrangements that make lit possible for women to i combine family and career. But most Greek families cannot afford large apartments, day-care centres, or private schools. Abortion and contraception are widely available, and Greece has an extremely low’ birth rate, particularly among better educated urban dwellers.