ISO: LTU
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The electronic version of this document has been prepared at the Fourth
World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in collaboration with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
Secretariat.
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AS WRITTEN


Statement by the Delegation of the Republic of Lithuania
Delivered by
Dr. Giedre Purvaneckiene
State Counsellor for Women's Affairs
Head of Delegation to the Fourth World Conference on Women

6 September 1995Beijing, China


Madame President, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Colleagues and Guests,

  It is a great honour for me to participate in this important 
international conference and to address you today on behalf of the Government 
of the Republic of Lithuania.

  Due to well-known historical circumstances, the Delegation of Lithuania 
is attending and representing our Government at an United Nations conference 
on women for the first time since our country chose the path of freedom and 
independence in 1990.

  Since Lithuania did not have the opportunity to participate in the work 
of the Nairobi Conference and thus was in no position to assume responsibility 
for realizing the goals reached there, my Delegation will not address the 
topic of implementation of the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies.  However, 
we would like to review the changes in the status of women in Lithuania 
following the re-establishment of independence and to identify some of the 
current problems women are facing in my country.

  During the Soviet period, the myth that complete gender equality had 
been achieved was promulgated.   Many people believed this assertion, but in 
reality that alleged equality was declarative in nature and promoted in the 
name of socialism.  True equality existed neither in the workplace nor in the 
home, nor generally in society as a whole or in the political life of the 
country.  Women worked in full-time jobs, but the majority of them worked for 
lower pay and in lower-level positions.  At the same time, women were expected 
to shoulder the main responsibility for household work.   That is why it is 
not surprising that later, under totally different circumstances, the majority 
of Lithuanian women did not place much value on or strive for such alleged 
equality.

  With the re-establishment of independence, many Lithuanians rejected the 
concept of gender equality, which they considered to be a relic of the 
Communist past.  Many began to call for "the return of women to the family."  
A complex and contradictory situation has ensued, which could be described by 
the following developments and trends:

  1. As society is becoming more democratized, clear and irreversible 
changes in freedom of speech and press have taken place, yet many still do not 
associate women's rights with democracy.

  2. The Constitution and laws of Lithuania guarantee gender equality, 
though in practice many violations of this principle occur.

  3. Even with the process of transition from a command economy to a 
free market, people at the same time support previously-provided social 
guarantees.

  4. Economic changes have had an especially hard impact on women, who 
constitute the majority of the poor.

  5. The situation of women in Lithuania is further complicated by the 
patriarchal attitudes of the majority of the population, including women.

  Some areas of concern are:

I.  The legal situation and discrimination of women.

  The Constitution of Lithuania guarantees gender equality.  Lithuania 
acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination 
against Women in 1994.   This Convention will be ratified in the nearest 
future.  All the laws passed in recent years reflect the principle of gender 
equality.

  However, problems in family policy exist.  The same can be said about 
laws dealing with the family.  In recent years, the number of births in 
Lithuania have declined.   The reproduction rate has now reached a negative 
level.  This has influenced government policy on the family and women.  Policy 
directives encouraged higher birth rates.  While the child care system is very 
broad, comparable to that in the Nordic countries, the programs cannot be 
adequately financed in Lithuania due to the difficult economic situation.  But 
as the economic situation gets better, the program does allow for a sequential 
increase in assistance.

  It is very important to note that laws dealing with the family are based 
on the principle of gender equality, that child care benefits under the law 
are the same for both mother and father.   It is unfortunate that fathers 
practically do not utilize the opportunities available to them.  In the area 
of family policy, we thus encounter such a problem:  even when the principle 
of gender equality exists in law, the methods of implementation are geared 
primarily towards women.  Subsequently, these laws and their implementation 
have indirectly become causes for discrimination against women in the 
workplace.

  The laws can and must be improved.  A definite need for special anti-
discrimination laws exists.  Mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of 
those laws must also be established.  But those laws will not eliminate 
discrimination if the public does not comprehend the problem and does not want 
to do anything about it.  Sustainable improvements in the status of women 
require empowerment of women themselves along with changes in behavioural 
norms.

II.  Inequality in decision-making.

  Women make up more than half the population in Lithuania.  Their level 
of education is, on the average, higher that that of men.   Women in Lithuania 
comprise slightly over half of the economically active population, yet few 
women have positions in governing structures.  Only 7% of Parliament members 
are women and there are no women ministers in the present Government of 
Lithuania.  This is a serious problem.   The intellectual potential of women 
is neither fully recognized nor utilized, thus doing a major disservice to the 
development of the country.  We hope that non-governmental organizations will 
become more active in promoting women's empowerment.  The newly established 
Women's Party plans to work on reversing the negative trend of 
underrepresentation of women at senior levels of decision-making.

III.  The feminization of poverty.

  Acute differences in the standard of living of Lithuanian residents and 
growing disparities between rich and poor have increased dramatically during 
the process of economic transition.  It has become clear that women constitute 
the majority of Lithuania's poor.

  Some of the reasons for this are as follows:

  1. On the average, women's income is 1.4 times smaller than that of 
men.

  2. More men, by in large, work in the private sector;  more men are 
business-owners.

  3. Women make up the majority of sole breadwinners among heads of 
household.

  4. The average life span of women is longer than that of men.  
Consequently, most pensioners are women.

  5. Transition has had an increased impact on women's unemployment.

  6. Child-care facilities have decreased almost twofold.

  These factors have increased the feminization of poverty.  Women make up 
the majority of government subsidy recipients, but those benefits are too 
small and fall short of price increases.   There are little or no means to 
increase those benefits.  Special programs are needed to retrain women, to 
involve them in business development, but financial resources are severely 
limited.

IV.  Violence against women.

  After completion of a series of studies in our Republic, it became 
evident that violence against women is a phenomenon which exists to no lesser 
degree in Lithuania than in other countries.  An obstacle to overcoming this 
problem is the popular opinion that violence against women is out of character 
for Lithuanians.  Public awareness of violence against women is in the process 
of being raised and some measures are being taken to deal with this problem.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

  Lithuanian women no doubt have other problems and concerns which cannot 
be addressed or analyzed in the brief time allotted for our statement.  
Nonetheless, preparation for and participation in this conference has 
strengthened our political commitment and concern for issues relating to 
women at the national, regional and international level.  A program for the 
advancement of women in Lithuania is in the process of being developed.  It 
will include concrete measures for the implementation of the Platform for 
Action.   We hope that the international community will assist us, where 
appropriate, in realizing these goals and in implementing the recommendations 
of the Beijing Conference.

Thank you, Madame President.