The purpose of this work is to
review the characteristic features
of the socio-economic position and
behaviour patterns of farm women,
as distinguished from other social
groups of women (industrial
workers, office workers,
housewives). The data were
collected by means of a
questionnaire in the autumn of
1975, on a representative sample of
inhabitants of Slovenia (N = 2014).
Our results are from the study
»Životni uvjeti i načini života
Slovenaca« (Life Conditions and
Ways of Life of Slovenes), I and II.
Of the total number of women
(N = 1087) in the representative
sample, 20% were farm women;
57% living in part-time households,
with an above average number of
family members, and a below
average household income. Almost
all the farm women are religious;
they have a conservative attitude
towards the organization of family
life; they devote much more time
than other women to activities of
an existential nature and
conversation with neighbours and
friends. Activities from the fields
of sports, education and
socio-political life are almost
non-existent in the life of farm
women.
In some activities their participation
is almost the same as that of the
rest of the female population
(housework, harvesting, listening
to the radio and reading
newspapers and magazines). In all
other activities their participation
is much lower, even lower than the
participation of retired women and
housewives. Aspirations towards changes in
activities are low and unfied. They
usually spend their leisure in
physical passivity; they differ from
the rest of the female population in
that their leisure activities are
expressively utilitarian. The values
of the farm woman in most cases
coincide with what she is really
doing, not with her aspirations.
Farm women have the lowest
social status of all the group of
women compared, and rather
uniform patterns of behaviour. It
seems that, with minimum changes,
such patterns of behaviour will
persevere.
A low socio-economic status and
tradition not only slow down, but
prevent even the slightest change
in patterns of behaviour outside
the family circle
