ISO: SVK
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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 
Mrs. Olga KELTOSOVA
the minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic
and Head of Delegation of the Slovak Republic
to the United Nation 4th World Conference on Women

China, Beijing 7 September 1995


Madam Chairperson,
distinguished delegates,
ladies and gentlemen,

let me to congratulate you, Madam Chairperson, on your being elected to 
be a chairman of the Conference and to wish you a lot of creative effort 
to a successful run of this conference. 

Let me also to pronounce my thanks and to express my admiration of the 
way Mrs. Mongella, the general secretary of the 4th World Conference on 
Women, as well as her colleagues, culminated the process of preparation, 
heading to this event of the world-wide importance. I pronounce, too, my 
gratitude to the People's Republic of China and its representatives for 
the hospitality and attention paid to the participants of the conference 

Following up such previous activities of the UN as the Cairo Conference 
on Population and Development and the Copenhagen Summit on Social 
Development where the women topic formed a very important part of the 
discussed theme, this conference gives extensive possibilities to 
analyse the problems of women in all aspects. 

I am convinced that the 4th World Conference on Women shall contribute a 
good deal to the establishment of a "new partnership" between men and 
women with an equal distribution of power and responsibility in the 
public and private life. 

Madam Chairperson,

many important changes have taken place in the world since the last 
Conference on Women in Nairobi. Some of these changes affected very 
rapidly the Slovak Republic, too. An important milestone, the year 1989, 
known for ending of the totalitarian regime, has been added up by the 
year 1993 - an establishment of the independent Slovak Republic. This 
continues for the third year already in the development of a democratic 
and pluralistic state as well as in transformation of the economy on the 
principles of the socially and environmentally oriented market economy. 

The Slovak Republic belongs among the countries which overcome 
significant political, economical, social and cultural changes whereby 
the women are one of the groups responding most sensitively to these 
changes. 

Following up the development of the economy the government of the Slovak 
Republic carries out a complex transformation of the social system. 
Normative amendments are being prepared and laid down, such as the law 
on the state social welfare, the law on social aid, the law on social 
insurance and the employment law, which are supposed to solve and 
eliminate some social consequences of the structural changes, especially 
unemployment and an impact of inflation on the social sphere. Performing 
the economic transformation and approaching the market economy the 
government lays stress upon respecting of the social dimension of the 
economic changes. The government is convinced that the Slovak society 
has enough internal strength, means and ways to overcome the present 
state and inspired by the spirit of the Constitution of the Slovak 
Republic to guarantee a decent life of all citizens, to maintain and 
improve achieved standard of economic and social rights and to guarantee 
them by applying of instruments of the state's social policy 

A transition to the pluralistic democratic political system and to the 
market economy with a significant accent on observance of human rights 
and democracy changes the status (position) of women in the Slovak 
Republic. The Slovak Republic has 5,3 million of inhabitants with 51 % 
women. The average life length of women oscillates around 75,4 years. 
The birth rate has a sinking tendency with 13,8 children per 1000 
inhabitants in the year 1993. The abortion rate is rather high (61,9 
abortions per 100 born children) although it has a gradually sinking 
tendency. Marriage rate per 1000 inhabitants represents 5,8 marriages, 
divorce rate 1,5 divorce per 1000 inhabitants. The absolute majority of 
children is born in marriage (about 90 %), the family has a high status 
in the value system of the Slovak women. 

The percentage of incomplete families headed by a woman represents 
11,4 % of all families. The share of women on the total employment has a 
sinking tendency. The women's present share on employment is 42,3 % 
whereby the majority of women (97,8 %) works full time The Slovak women 
are highly educated, the women with university education represent   
42,6 % of all employed, those with secondary education even 57,2 % The 
protection of the working conditions of women in the Slovak Republic 
results from the legal measure on working conditions of women guaranteed 
by the Constitution and the Labour Code in conformity with the 
provisions of the International Labour Organisation. 

A relatively low utilisation of women's achieved education in functions 
with responsibility and managing functions remains as a certain negative 
phenomenon. Within the model of a parallel performance of woman's mother 
and professional task is this problem currently hardly soluble due to 
the problems with the system of supporting services and children's pre-
school facilities. 

The unemployment of women in comparison with men within the context of 
the overall unemployment is not dramatically higher and it even 
decreased recently to a rate which is lower than the unemployment of 
men. 

Due treatment in all situations concerning fulfilment of the women's 
specific functions is guaranteed within the system of social and medical 
welfare. Medical service during pregnancy, paid maternity and parental 
leave, children benefits and other benefits, assistance and support are 
granted. Despite this the women in current aggravated conditions of the 
transforming economy describe the health problems and their solutions as 
crucial and rank them to a second position right after the financial 
problems. The third place belongs to the problem of unemployment threat. 

However, the women even in the current aggravated economic situation 
prefer an active approach to the solution of financial problems, 
especially the creation of new jobs, own enterprising and the like. 

There is no parity at all as far as the share of women in political and 
decision making bodies is concerned. 14 % of women in recent Slovak 
parliament and 3 women in the governmental cabinet do not express the 
proportion of the political power represented by women in the country. 
Rejection of the quota system as a remnant of the previous totalitarian 
system resulted in diminishing of the number of women in decisive 
political bodies to a minimum. The solution of this question, however, 
is much more complicated than a single increase of the number of women 
on candidate lists of political parties. It is a question of women's 
faith in their own strength, too, as well as the strength of women 
themselves to solve the problems of the society. 

The activities in women's movement represent an important starting point 
for women to take up posts in politics. A plurality exists in the 
women's movement, too, due to the democratisation of the society. 
However, the power of this movement in the political and social context 
is not sufficient yet. It is possible to see a proceeding progress 
though. 

The problem of women's status in the Slovak Republic is rather 
complicated and the aggravated conditions of the economic and social 
transformation fall hardly on women's shoulders. 

I am convinced, however, that I can conclude my contribution 
optimistically, since such educated women with such managerial skills as 
we have in the Slovak Republic are able to enforce their requirements 
and the government goes to meet these requirements in correspondence 
with its competencies and objective conditions. The government committed 
itself in its Program Declaration to create such conditions that the 
social needs of the family are secured by its own effort as well as by 
intervention of the state in order to protect endangered families. Its 
base shall be a conception of the state family policy, a new amendment 
of the family law including new approaches to adoption, alimony and 
substitute (alternative) family upbringing, state social welfare and 
assistance, ensuring the upbringing and nutrition of children, 
preparation of the young generation for occupation and for doing well in 
the society. A legal definition of the women's status shall be a part of 
these measures As far as the health service is concerned the government 
commits itself to pay an extra attention to the treatment of women and 
children. 

The government respects as legal instrument the UN Convention on the 
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women issued after 
ratification as an independent law of the SR in the Digest of Laws (No. 
69/1987). As a basic law the Constitution of the SR respects and 
guarantees in its Article 19 the basic rights and freedoms on the 
territory of the SR for all without regard to sex race, colour of skin, 
language, conviction and religion and other factors It guarantees for a 
woman the right to increased health protection at work and extra working 
conditions (Article 38), a special treatment during pregnancy (Article 
41), property and hereditary rights and other rights. 

Madam chairperson,

I am convinced that the 4th World Conference on Women should direct the 
world's attention to the need of solving the problems of women with a 
due consistency. There are still thousands of women living under 
oppression, their basic rights being not observed, worrying in the areas 
of war conflicts about their own lives and the lives of their near ones. 

The women from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe find 
themselves presently in an extra difficult situation where economic 
development or better the problems of economic development overlap and 
they push aside the solutions of many other of their problems which seem 
to be less important within this context. 

I believe deeply that the message and the materials of this conference 
and especially the Platform of action, representing an essential and 
most important document of this Conference will direct the development 
of the women topic to an achievement of a real partnership between the 
genders, to a partnership which shall reach a full and equal share of 
women's participation in the private political, economic, social and 
cultural life in order to ensure equal rights for all and the 
development and peace world-wide. 

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention.