Hungary, whose social policies from its treatment of migrants to LGBTQ rights have sparked international condemnation, now appears to be taking aim at educated women.
Having too many female college graduates threatens the economy and demographics by skewing education in their favour and making it more difficult for them to have children, according to a report by the State Audit Office.
The work, titled “Signs of Pink Education in Hungary?!,” was published on July 1 and reported by Nepszava newspaper this week.
The report underscores Hungary being increasingly out of step with its fellow EU members, not just politically but socially.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban has sought to emphasise what he has described as “traditional” values in his self-proclaimed “illiberal democracy”, including enshrining in the constitution that a family is comprised by the union of a man and a woman.
The report underscores Hungary being increasingly out of step with its fellow EU members
“The brunt of inequality in Hungary is borne by women,” said Anna Komjathy of the Democratic Union of Teachers. “The notion that men’s access to higher education is hampered by women is, frankly, a joke.”
The study came from a separate state body and not the government, though it was quickly criticised by local media as the latest product of the macho political culture fostered by Orban, who refers to tough tasks as “work for men”.
Like many European nations, Hungary suffers from a low birth rate, which Orban’s nationalist party says threatens the country’s future.
“Where there’s a difference in the educational attainment of a marrying couple, the bride is usually more educated than the groom,” wrote the researchers, comprising three women and one man led by Beatrix Fuzi from the Budapest Business School.
“If this tendency continues, the inequity in higher education may risk a drop in births due to the reduced probability of women choosing to marry and bear children.”
The study said this stemmed partly from women being over-represented in the teaching profession, leading to “male attributes being underrated, possibly penalised” in the classroom.
It didn’t mention gender inequality elsewhere. There is just one woman in Orban’s 15-member cabinet, and women comprise about 13% of lawmakers in Hungary, the lowest ratio among the 38 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development after Japan.
Bloomberg
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