Barriers to Work-Family Balance in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Gender Implications

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Published: Nov 13, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59954/stnv.703
Keywords:
maternity rights, parental leave, work-life balance, Bosnia and Herzegovina, family policy

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Jelena Ćeriman
University of Belgrade, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, Belgrade, Serbia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3848-5926
Ljiljana Pantović
University of Belgrade, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, Belgrade, Serbia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2018-9643
Marija Radovanović
University of Belgrade, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, Belgrade, Serbia
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8434-7232

Abstract

Although laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) formally guarantee the rights of pregnant women and mothers, their practical implementation is largely absent, preventing women from fully exercising their maternity rights. Women often face dismissals during pregnancy or after childbirth, and labour market discrimination remains unaddressed, particularly in the private sector, where fixed-term contracts hinder maternity leave access. Additionally, unequal wages contribute to disparities in maternity benefits, while paternal leave usage is minimal, reinforcing traditional gender roles in childcare. These structural factors impede the reconciliation of professional and family lives for women, shaping their experiences and perceptions of childbirth and parenting. This paper explores the main challenges women in B&H face in reconciling work and family life, with a focus on systemic, institutional, and cultural barriers. Drawing on a descriptive analysis based on quantitative empirical research conducted with women-working mothers from B&H in 2025, this paper identifies critical limitations on women’s participation in the labour market, without inferring causal relationships. Special attention is given to B&H’s family model, which heavily relies on women for care and unpaid work, making it difficult to achieve a more equitable distribution of responsibilities between partners. The paper explores potential legal and strategic mechanisms to align parental rights, enhance financial support, and encourage greater paternal involvement in childcare, highlighting implications for gender equality and institutional practice.

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How to Cite
Ćeriman, J., Pantović, L. ., & Radovanović, M. (2025). Barriers to Work-Family Balance in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Gender Implications. Stanovnistvo. https://doi.org/10.59954/stnv.703
Issue
Online First
Section
Thematic issue "Population, Gender Equality, and Public Policies"
Copyright (c) 2025 Jelena Ćeriman, Ljiljana Pantović, Marija Radovanović

Published by the Institute of Social Sciences - Center for Demographic Research 

Author Biographies

Jelena Ćeriman, University of Belgrade, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, Belgrade, Serbia

Jelena Ćeriman, PhD, is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade.

Ćeriman combines theoretical approaches from political and cultural sociology and critical gender studies with both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Jelena conducted her postdoctoral research in Budapest (Institute for Minority Studies – Center for Social Sciences of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2022) and in Ljubljana (ZRC SAZU in 2023). She was also awarded a fellowship for engaged research (2022/23), supported by the Talloires Network of Engaged Universities and the Open Society University Network (OSUN). Within this program, she investigated the realization of collective rights of national minorities in Serbia.

In addition to her extensive research experience, she possesses strong coordination and management skills, developed through her involvement in both international and national research and development projects, as well as in leading research teams. She has served as a coordinator of the Serbian team within the Disobedient Democracy (DisDem) project and currently leads an international task group responsible for specific activities within a work package of the CircleU European University Alliance. She also participated as a team member in the Horizon 2020 EnTrust project. Her research findings have been recognized as relevant to public policy development, with some incorporated into national strategies in Serbia. She has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes and is actively engaged as a mentor and reviewer in both national and international academic contexts.

Ljiljana Pantović, University of Belgrade, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, Belgrade, Serbia

Ljiljana Pantović holds a PhD in Anthropology (2019) from the University of Pittsburgh (USA). She received distinguished fellowships while working on her PhD: Andrew Mellon Predissertation Scholarship (2014/2015), Klinzing Grant for Doctoral Research (2016/2017) and Social Sciences Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship of the University of Pittsburgh (2017/2018). She has worked as a postdoctoral fellow and researcher on the international project Geography of Philosophy: Interdisciplinary Cross-Cultural Research on Universality and Diversity in Fundamental Philosophical Concepts (2019-2020), supported by the Templeton Foundation. Since 2020, she has been employed as a Research Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory, where she works on issues of care, health, and gender in post-socialist Eastern Europe from an interdisciplinary perspective. She is a member of the laboratory for the study of philanthropy, solidarity and care, the laboratory for the research of socialism and (post)Yugoslav studies, as well as the laboratory for gender research. She was the lead researcher of the project Closeness and Care: Care for the elderly in Serbia during the COVID19 pandemic (2021/2022), which was implemented with the support of the Open Society University Network (OSUN). Ljiljana is the institute coordinator for OSUN. She has published several academic papers in prestigious academic journals and is the author of several book chapters. She is currently working on her first manuscript based on doctoral research on maternal health care in Serbia.

Marija Radovanović, University of Belgrade, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, Belgrade, Serbia

Marija is a doctoral student at the Faculty of Political Sciences, at the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, where she also completed her undergraduate and master’s studies, specializing in social policy creation and analysis.

She has gained significant professional experience as a consultant for the United Nations Human Rights Team at the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, where she was involved in the reporting processes of the Republic of Serbia before UN mechanisms as well as in the process of monitoring the implementation of UN recommendations in the field of human rights.

In addition to her position as a research assistant at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, Marija is also engaged as a teaching associate at the Faculty of Political Sciences, for a narrow scientific field of social policy. Furthermore, she is an assistant on the project Public Advocacy for the Adoption of Social Protection Strategy and a member of the team for the Initiative for Improving Social Welfare.

Her main areas of interest include social security systems, solidarity and social economy, and gender equality policies.

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