Đurđica Degač

This study examines whether artificial intelligence (AI) tools can alleviate mental labour of employed mothers in Croatian society, predominantly traditional in terms of gender norms, and whether this technology reinforce or challenge existing gender inequalities. The research is anchored in multi-phase exploratory sequential mixed-methods design: phase one includes semi-structured interviews with AI experts to examine gendered assumptions in technology; phase two draws on a survey of 369 employed mothers to grasp perceptions and experiences with digital tools in household management; the final phase involves a qualitative quasi-experiment in which five highly educated employed mothers used ChatGPT for two weeks to assist with domestic tasks. Findings indicate that while AI supports organizing daily tasks, especially planning, scheduling, and tracking, it rarely redistributes mental labour within households. Participants use AI mainly to ease their own workload, not to shift task-sharing. Expert interviews revealed that AI design remains shaped by exclusionary, male-dominated structures, with some experts expressing biologically essentialist views that reinforce gender inequality. Survey results show that although most mothers were digitally literate and open to tech solutions, their usage has limited systemic impact. The quasi-experiment highlighted a gap between personal efficiency gains and persistent structural inequality, with AI seen more as a replicating tool than a genuinely transformative force. This study concludes that AI can support individual women in managing invisible domestic responsibilities, but without concurrent shifts in social norms and policy, its emancipatory potential remains constrained. It calls for feminist-informed, participatory design approaches that prioritize care, inclusion, and the redistribution of responsibility in both technological and social systems.

To understand changes in education caused by the transition to distance education, we utilize sociological concepts such as Turner’s concept of social dynamics to theoretically place changed relationships between individuals, institutions, and the social system, and we use various concepts of capital in understanding activation of teachers’ capital and resources. Primary research objectives were to analyze (a) institutional support to teachers from their perspective and (b) the capital and resources teachers had to activate during distance education. Interviews with 32 teachers from Croatia were conducted in 2020 and deductive thematic analysis was applied. Results indicate that the adjustment from teachers’ perspective relied mostly on their direct work with students and activation of personal and professional capital and resources, while institutional support was of secondary importance. Themes related to the institutional support indicate a mix of positive and negative experiences with negative experiences more pronounced regarding the national level support. Social capital and the exchange of experiences with colleagues are highlighted in comparison to the national‑level institutional support which aligns with Turner’s analysis of social dynamics.