Prague, Aug 29 (CTK) – Czech women in their productive age are not much willing to stay at home looking after children and household permanently and at present only up to 5 percent of them do so, daily Pravo writes today, referring to statistics.
Last year, some 310,000 women in productive age were on parental leave, took care of children or another close person and they were not actively looking for jobs in the country .
Besides, other 12,000 women said they were not seeking jobs since they did not want or have to do so and 15,000 for purely personal reasons, Pravo says.
The number of women who look after their children, husband and household even after their maternity leave is estimated only unofficially since the status of “housewife” officially does not exist in the Czech Republic, the paper adds.
Most women return to work after their children start attending kindergarten or school.
According to polls, about a half of women return to their original employer after maternity leave and their share would have been higher if more employers had been willing to admit them and offered part-time jobs to mothers.
Despite this, the Czech Republic ranks among the countries with one of the highest employment of women. They make up 44 percent of employees out of the total of five million economically active people in the country with a population of 10.5 million, Pravo says.
If a woman decides to be a real housewife, she must count with some disadvantages. She must pay her social insurance herself to be entitled to old-age pension. Such women must give up their professional career and if they decide to go to work after their children grow up, they must expect less attractive jobs, Petra, 40, said.
“My husband does not want me to go to work, he is used to the full service, and at the same time, he wants me to represent him in the evening, be relaxed and fit. He has a really high income, he even pays for yoga lessons, a car and a dressmaker,” Iveta, 29, from Prague, said.
“You must trust your partner to stand by you, otherwise he may exchange you for ‘a younger model’ and you will end up without money and a flat, with empty hands and no future at the age of 50,” Petra told Pravo.
Sociologist Martina Hronova points out that most women want to go to work after maternity leave for financial reasons.
The Czech family is traditionally dependent on two wages. Without them, couples with children cannot afford their own housing, sociologists say.
“Current women in productive age want to be independent, rely on themselves and use their education. After all, women make up 60 percent of university students at present,” Hronova said.
The society should enable women to choose freely between becoming a housewife and having a professional career, that is to offer enough nurseries, for example, and at the same time appreciate women’s work, Hronova told Pravo.
