The effects of the economic crisis on gender relations in Greece

The project examines the effects of the current economic crisis on gender relations in Greece, in terms of employment, family responsibilities, state and social policy, and social and personal issues. It was based on a qualitative research carried out in Greece during the Summer of 2013-and Spring 2014. The project was divided in two parts. The first part offered an overview of the status of Greek women as well as the austerity policies forced on them by the state and assessed its effects. It argued that the austerity policies imposed on the country by the Troika have retrogressed several successful steps previously taken by the Greek state towards gender equality. The state in turn rearranged its priorities leaving gender rights last in terms of national importance. The second part of the project discussed how Greek women coped with their reduced benefits and how gender equality was affecting their everyday life, based on in-depth interviews, using snowballing sample of 25 women, collected in Athens metropolitan area. The results showed that although the economic crisis affected all women, the more educated professionals have most difficulty in coping with it, followed by the laborers and finally the service and sales women.